Konohana, a Volcanic Duality
by AmaryllisMoth
Summary: Reconnect: Kingdom Hearts, unite all scattered worlds and rescue what is lost. Their journey is complete, but adjusting to their new reality leaves many struggles to be sorted. For there are many things yet left unsaid. Life at school may not be as action packed as they're used to, but it certainly can be troublesome. Does every beginning always signify an end?
1. Kairi: A New Horizon

Once more I caught my attention drifting far out across the sea horizon. Beyond that watery expanse, the line to split apart the ocean and sky was absolutely indistinguishable. So indistinguishable that the longer my eyes linger upon that horizon the more I feel drawn into something...familiar, hypnotic maybe. I fiddled with the charm attached to my purse, giving it a comforting squeeze. At least that unknowable distance doesn't seem quite so scary any more. Not like being requested to visit the principal's office at the end of school with absolutely no notice or reason. That was definitely still scary.

I sighed and tapped at one of the colorful stickers decorating my pencil case a few times as I tried to refocus on Mr. Fulton's lecture. As if that was really going to work. I just kept flipping scenarios over in my head. It can't be that serious, right? It's not like either of them were asked to come with me. What could he even want? I have way too much nervous energy to concentrate on the...'wonderful life of tax budgeting' I scanned up on the board. Not only that, but Mr. Fulton always made me feel a little uneasy. Something about him just doesn't, how to say, match up correctly. Almost like how the sweet old woman at the corner store stuffs her incredibly grouchy cat into a bumblee bee outfit. It's cute and Leonard definitely hams it up for treats, the little minion, but he really doesn't enjoy it much. Mr. Fulton feels like the human version of that poor cat; not a bad man but obviously unhappy and steadfastly refuses to acknowledge it. Not to mention the...strained enthusiasm he forces to hide it. It's just a little distressing to see someone so miserable every day without really being able to fix anything. I honestly wish he would just take the advice and switch to a career that actually makes him happy.

I shifted again in my chair, really not able to get comfortable at all. Why did they tell me about this meeting with the principal at the very beginning of the day? Now I have to stress the whole time about what could possibly be wrong, who could be in trouble…I guess that's why it's so tempting to keep looking back out this window…I felt a light nudge at the back of my shoe. Hmm...wonder which trouble-maker _that_ could be. As stealthily as possible, I glanced further over my left shoulder at the obvious culprit. Behind me, Riku was leaning on his left hand, lightly flicking his pencil between his fingers, obviously trying to look inconspicuous and failing. He had that same oddly mischievous look on his face when he was up to something…

He dipped his head over to the right quickly, trying to signal for me to look over. Without even turning, I had a pretty good idea this was related to our mutual little slacker. Twisting back around I glanced over to where Sora was sitting. Or at least, where he was supposed to be sitting. Slumping, maybe is more accurate. How he managed to actually get so comfortable in these desks is a miracle to say the least. And with that same sweet goofy look on his face…I wonder what he dreams about all the time? I noticed the slightest amount of drool pooling beneath his open mouth onto his notebook. It's probably something about lunch. I hastily threw my hand over my mouth and tried to feign my sudden laughter as a cough or two. It worked...maybe. The teacher gestured over in my direction grandly.

"Exactly! What fool would go through with a daily purchase without a receipt!? What if you have an issue proving where all your hard-earned munny went? How will you do it!? You can't!" He slammed his fist onto the table, sending the whole first row of students reeling backwards.

I halfheartedly tried to nod along, grabbing for my pen to scribble some looping squiggles in my notebook until the teacher stopped making eye contact.

"Now, let's once again review the proper way to craft a record for a transaction done..." Mr. Fulton turned back towards the board and started drawing something ridiculously large up on the board, flinging his whole body into it.

I adjusted my posture in my chair. Still uncomfortable. Sora remained snoozing away peacefully, making me seriously jealous now. If I strained my ears I could barely pick up his unmistakably adorable light snoring. I never really thought something like that could sound cute but it always makes me smile when I hear it. His foot shifted a bit to the side and he sighed a bit more deeply, his own smile twitching on his face. If anyone deserves to relax its him. When he is able to rest so peacefully...I know everything is alright.

I picked up slight waving out of the corner of my eye and noticed Selphie doing her best to silently catch my attention. Tucked under her left arm she was dangling what looked like a folded piece of paper. She gave me a quick wink and released it, letting it fall to the floor. She spotted where the teacher was before slipping it over to me with her shoe. I trapped it under mine until it was safe to grab up.

It was just a small note, folded over a few times with a simple '-Kairi' scribbled on the outer side. What was most unusual was actually the way it was folded: all four corners bent into the center then halved, almost like origami. I pulled the edges out and stared at the message cradled inside: 'Meet me. 13h. Tree by Sports Building. Alone.' I'm not like a magical handwriting sleuth but I can tell it was distinctive enough to know I had never seen it before. It almost looked like it was written by someone who was still learning to pen characters properly. While my name was crafted clearly with obvious care, the actual message was sloppy to say the least. Maybe rushed? Many of the letters were strangely sized and shaky. And...sports building? Did they mean the gym? Also why were so many people wanting to meet with me today, anyway? I turned my likely clueless face over to Selphie and gestured at the note trying to mouth to her.

 _Where did you get this?_

It takes me a couple tries but she finally understood me. She just gave me an unsatisfactory shrug and pointed over in the direction of Tidus' chair. He was eyeing us at this point and just shook his head aggressively mouthing something that looked like _not me_. I returned my attention back to the mysterious note. It had all the markings of a typical secret admirer confession but there was definitely something...off about this one. I considered passing it back for Riku's opinion but according to the clock on the wall there was only a minute or so left of class. Besides, there's no way he won't sneak after me like some kind of shadow spy bodyguard or something if he knows a _mysterious stranger_ has asked to meet me _alone_. I puffed out some air in frustration. Dealing with confessions was bad enough but I definitely wanted to keep those two as uninvolved in that stuff as possible. Can you imagine how intimidating that would be trying to pour your heart out to someone you liked and see a stern face like his glowering down at you from the corner? Ugh...why is it so impossible to hide things from him? Getting stuff past Sora? That's easy.

Speaking of Sora, I checked and he was still resting peacefully away. I marveled again at how he was able to pull that off. Even if I wanted to, or was able to get comfortable enough, I could never sleep during school knowing that _she_ could be lurking around any corner to-...

 _SMACK_

I gasped a little bit in surprise even though I saw it coming. A heavy teaching planner was resting mere centimeters from Sora's nose, held down by Miss Trepe's stern arm. His eyes snapped open and he froze, focusing on the brown notebook in front of him.

"Mr. Takahashi. I understand this might not be your favorite subject..." She raised the planner and let him groggily attempt sitting up, apologizing, before she swiped it cruelly down against the back of his head. He winced at this but took it without complaint. I know he has a hard head but I still can't help but worry...

"Every subject isn't his favorite..." Riku mumbled just loudly enough for me to hear. I quickly put my finger up to my mouth to try and hush him.

Sora yelped his apologizes a little louder and she narrowed her eyes at him. "On my honor as an educator I'll not sit by idly while you snooze away what precious little time you manage to squeeze in between your adventures gallivanting off wherever." She prodded him a little in the forehead. "I don't know what manages to get into that head of yours but I hope it's at least something. I feel like I always have to keep tabs on you."

For some reason, despite the threatening lecture, this goof started to smile.

"And what is so funny? This is very serious!"

He hastily shook his head, smile broadening. "No, no, no, nothing is funny it's..."

"Hmm? Speak up!"

"Well...I don't enjoy getting scolded, but..." He rubbed his injured head tenderly. "At the same time I appreciate you care enough to do it. Or...something like that. Not that I'm trying to be trouble on purpose or anything!"

Always unexpected things with this one.

She gave him a playful tap on the shoulder with her planner. "I've never given up on a student yet and I'm not about to start today."

"Sorry..."

Seemingly satisfied with his apology, our homeroom teacher then approached the front, having already gotten the attention of the room. Sora waited until she was a few steps away and flicked an eraser at Riku who was still giving him a bit of a gloating look. His eyes darted over to where I was sitting and met with mine. He waved a bit sheepishly, then suddenly averted his gaze down to the floor. Is he embarrassed? What could he possibly be so embarrassed about? He's always oversleeping.

"If you'll note the time, Mr. Fulton, I'm sure you'll find we are due for homeroom announcements." Just as Miss Trepe finished speaking, the town chime started up its peaceful melody, indicating the lunch hour had begun. Mr. Fulton sighed in relief, stumbling so quickly from the classroom that he almost forgot his folders on the front podium. Wasting no time, Miss Trepe flipped open her notebook, adjusted her glasses and scanned her notes. "I see all we have today is a brief announcement from a student council represent-"

"-That's me!" Selphie bounded up from her seat so fast the chair shot back behind her and nearly collided with Sora's foot. Undaunted, Selphie started her speech. "So, as you all know Kono Fes is going to be a little _unique_ this year, and it is predicted to be extra crowded with all the new visitors likely to come check it out. I'm sure you also know I founded the Island Greeting Committee for the big tourism boom and all predictions say this is going to be a huge hit this year so let's get ready to impress!"

Miss Trepe rolled her fingers impatiently at her.

Selphie immediately sped her voice up. "Ah...um...so any volunteers who want to lend their skills are appreciated! Any talents are welcome from the wonderful to the whimsical! In particular, we are still in desperate need of musicians! You can come sign up with me at lunch this week! First rehearsal will be on Friday!"

Miss Trepe waved at her to sit and cleared her throat. "I guess that is it for today, have a good lunch- and once again please refrain from any further..." she rolled her eyes "crab chopstick battles." A moan rose up from the other side of the classroom before it was summarily shut down with a sharp look. "Everyone should report back to classes _awake_ and ready to learn."

"Aye aye captain!" Sora piped up cheerily and I covered my giggle up with my hand.

Snapping her book shut she turned away on her heel and marched back to the teachers room. As soon as she left Selphie gave an apologetic nod over to me, gathered up her folder covered in inspirational stickers and raced out to meet with the other student council members. It was like a wave breaking up on shore as the silent tension of the classroom immediately dissipated once the teachers were gone.

Riku gave Sora a shove in his seat. "She's got you pegged. Better behave the rest of today or she'll add something extra to your remedial work on Wednesday."

"I know, I know! I had a late night last night, okay?" Sora shoved his friend back.

Riku leaned forward, feigning interest. "Oh, really? Something I should know about?"

Sora waved him away and avoided my eyes again. "Secret! Totally secret!" A brief wash of panic hit his face as he noticed the ink smudging in a few places from the small drool pool on his papers and he immediately began the somewhat futile effort of wiping it down. I couldn't help but feel the corners of my mouth twist up at the adorable panic of him attempting to dry out his notes. There was something helplessly cute about it.

"Don't worry, you can borrow my notes later if you are missing something."

"You really shouldn't spoil him like that." Riku pursed his lips in that silly disapproving way that made him look like a fussy nanny.

"You're one to talk!" I reached out to give him a little smack on the head but he ducked backwards to avoid me. I just jabbed my tongue out at him instead. Can't dodge that one, can you?

"By the way, what was that message Selphie passed you? Something about the festival she roped you into doing?" He eyed me up and down, judging every move.

"Ah...um...no, I don't think it's festival related..." Darn, I can already tell he is getting suspicious. Maybe if I change subjects quickly..."Anyway! I've been antsy all day so let's get outside already!" I spun around and bent over to rummage through my purse. Why does the useful stuff always fall down to the bottom... "Aha!" I wrapped my fingers around my wrapped lunchbox and lifted it aloft, spinning back to see both boys were now inexplicably mesmerized by the ceiling. "Um..." I tilted my head up but just saw the same dented ceiling tile from when Sora thought it was a good idea to try practicing juggling again. What were they looking at? Unless...Oh no… "Don't tell me the two of you forgot your lunches again…?" Yep, they were definitely still avoiding eye contact with me. So _that_ was why Sora has been so nervous around me today.

"Uh well..." Sora started doing that same little tick of his: laughing and scratching at the side of his face. Meanwhile Riku just shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Still too cool for excuses, I see.

"Ugh, you're both mooching bums you know that?"

Most all of our classmates had already found their preferred lunch spots so we had to dodge around a few groups on the stairs to get over to the courtyard and down to our bench. Well, not that it was actually ours but I think most of us tend to stick to the usual places. It's like some unwritten school etiquette rule. I sat down quickly and unwrapped my lunchbox flipping the lid open with a relish. "Tada!" I would definitely be lying if I said I didn't get at least a little enjoyment out of their oh so polite compliments towards my box arranging skill set. Obviously they are just vying for favors to get the good bits.

After a few rounds, I hushed them. "Okay, okay that's enough of that. You two are worse than the gulls sometimes." I pulled out the extra box and passed it over to Sora next to me. "Here, these are some extra sandwiches for the two of you to split."

He opened the box and I saw his eyes sparkle. "Kairi this is...how did you know to bring this much?"

I just rolled my eyes at him. Seriously? "You're the one who forgets about twice a week. I always bring it." There's usually at least someone who has forgotten some food for the day, so even if these boys do remember their lunch, my spare stuff is rarely left uneaten.

"He probably does it on purpose to take advantage of your good nature."

"Says the guy also mooching off her right now!" Sora snapped back then gently set my lunchbox down on the bench behind him and stood up, stretching. "I'll go grab us something to drink from the cart." He gave us a quick wave and jogged off to find where it was this afternoon. Shelinda had been so kind to take over the little drinks cart after her grandmother passed, but she was still getting used to things and often ended up just meandering about rather than follow any set route. But her heart is in it, which is the most important thing.

"Make sure you get a record of your transaction so you can properly do your taxes later." Riku joked after him, imitating our teacher's voice from the lecture earlier today. It obviously flew right over his head, as Sora just gave him the most baffled expression over his shoulder. I split my rolled egg cut into a heart shape into three pieces and divided it up between the boxes, watching him shrug off his confusion and bounce off happily. I also made sure to note the time on the school clock above the courtyard. I really should head off to meet my secret note writer soon…

"Um, so, I need to go take care of something really fast. Can you watch the food to make sure the birds don't steal anything?" I stood up and smoothed down my skirt, noticing Riku eyeing me suspiciously. "What? It's rude to stare, you know!"

"Mm." He hummed in agreement but didn't. stop. staring. "I thought your meeting with the principal was at the end of the day..."

I started to feel a little uneasy and avoided his look. "It's just girl stuff, okay?"

He stared sharply. Yeah, he definitely knows something is up. Ugh, those eyes. I stomped my foot at him and shooed him away. "I can take care of it. Seriously." I backed up, keeping locked on him the whole time just in case he tried anything funny. He leaned back into the bench and waved me off lazily with this hand. Yeah, try and sit there looking cool like you don't care. I don't trust it one bit…

Just as I turned to run off I passed Sora coming back from the other way. He skidded to a halt, tilting his head to me in confusion. Before he could ask I just gave him a quick wave and the most reassuring smile I could manage. "Be right back! You two had better not eat all my apple bunnies. I counted them!"

I breathed a sigh of relief once I made it past the archway. Okay so far so good...but now is the actual hard part, having to deal with this secret message writer. I know it didn't explicitly say it was a love confession but...something about it seemed so suspect. The care with which this person wrote my name...I slowed my steps as I drew closer to the large palm tree near the side of the gym. With each step I just felt more and more dread filling me up like a balloon. This was never easy. Just seeing someone spilling their heart out, looking so hopeful...it hurts. I know it hurts them more, but still…I knew no matter what I was going to have a rough night thinking about it. I lightly smacked my own face a few times. Come on, don't lose focus, this person deserves to be heard out, weird note or not. I stopped by the tree, spun around and clicked my heels together with determination. Maybe if I kept my body language strong I could pull through this.

It's odd though...usually they meet me first. I might bump into them pacing and practicing what they are going to say. Yet here I am standing alone…I gave it a while before I leaned over and tried to check the time from behind the leaf blocking my view. Whoever it is, they are late...I sighed and started fiddling with my charm bracelet. Jeez...if this turns out to be a prank…

Something ice cold brushed against my back and I froze. It felt like someone walking their fingers up from the small of my back up my spine. But it was so cold. Threatening. The sensation left my spine briefly, until I felt it brush through my hair. Gripping my fist I whipped myself around to see...nothing.

I was still all alone.

The touch against my back was gone and I was left feeling completely foolish. Maybe it was just a leaf brushing against me but...no...there was something too familiar about it. Despite the air being quite warm I began to shiver, my arms prickling. This was a bad idea. Something was definitely wrong here. I slowly backed up from where I was standing, back towards the courtyard where I could hear the laughter of my classmates. Just as soon as I made it far enough away I turned to make a run for it. Hopefully I can fi-I stumbled backwards from the unexpected block in my path. An arm clutched around me to save me from dropping into the dirt.

"Whoa there! What's the hurry? It's only just past one o'clock, plenty of lunch time left."

Oh, it's Irvine. I hastily apologized and adjusted myself, noting that he still had his arm tightly wrapped around my waist. I tried to shrug it off but he pulled me in a bit closer.

I leaned away. "Are you the one wh-"

"Princess, princess! I can't believe you'd compliment me so freely! Of course I am the " _one"_! The most princely guy you can get, ready to be your personal savior."

I sighed and tried extracting his arm again. "Irvine, we've talked about this before. Just because I am a princess doesn't mean I like being a damsel."

"And yet here you are, safe in my arms. I can take you out for a real nice time, make you forget all your troubles..."

I was starting to believe maybe Irvine had set this whole thing up and tried to scare me on purpose. It all felt just too coincidental. Though that doesn't really seem like him..."I'm fine. But I can think of one girl who actually has a lot of troubles right now. I bet she _really_ wants the help of a nice, considerate gentleman. She's absolutely _desperate_."

He drew me closer. "Oh…? And who might that be?"

I playfully put a finger on the side of my chin, pretending to reconsider. "Hmm...should I tell you? I wonder if you can manage it...she's really quite a handful, you know. Needs favors _all_ the time."

Irvine gave me a wink. "And what do I need to do to learn where this lovely lady is?"

"Move your arm, for starters."

He released me and gave me a ridiculous bow. "As you wish, my princess." Ugh, I hated when people called me that.

"Second, stop with the princess stuff." I noted that disappointed little sag and I sighed. "At least, just tone it down a little, okay? If you go to the student council room you'll find her waiting for you."

He clicked his tongue, pointing his finger in my direction. "I'll be sure to do _juuust_ that." He turned and stumbled a bit, looking surprised. "Hm?...hey there." He bobbed his head over to someone who must have been right behind him before slipping past. Once he moved I could see more clearly. Oh, it was Sora? How long had he been standing there? He looked frozen in place, holding what looked like my handkerchief. I couldn't quite read the expression on his face. It was somewhere between confusion, shock and...maybe the fading remnants of excitement? Like he had just run over to tell me something really great but was stopped in his tracks. I wonder what he could have been so excited for?

He nodded his head back over in the direction Irvine was leaving. "Everything okay?"

"Yep. Just fine. Mind telling me why you are here?" I pressed him.

The excitement portion of his face took over and he lifted what he was holding up into the air. "I found it for you!"

"Hm?"

Yeah, it was definitely my handkerchief all right. He offered it over, but before I could question anything he was already speaking again. "So um...you're helping Irvine with something?"

I waved the question off. "No, not really. He just insists on doing favors but I had no favors to give him. So I sent him over to Selphie as a volunteer."

His eyes widened. "He can play an instrument?"

"I guess we'll find out. Once she sinks her hooks into something she's not letting go. Irvine is just as persistent. Who knows? Maybe I've just summoned chaos by mixing those two together..."

He laughed one of those bright earnest laughs that never fails to make me smile right back. It's like his happiness is a contagious bug. He bounced back and forth a bit, pointing back towards our bench. "You ready to go back? Riku's probably eating all the good parts already!"

I stalled for a moment, casting my eyes back at the darkened doorway of the gym. I did a quick check to make sure that there really was no one there. Any dark feelings that there were before had long since passed. I felt gentle pressure on my soldier and saw Sora wordlessly waiting, probably a little concerned now that something was actually wrong.

"Mm...yeah." I let it go, giving Sora a playful shove as I started running back to the bench. "Let's not let him get away with that!"

* * *

Riku lifted an eyebrow at us as we returned. "So?"

"Mission success!" Sora jumped up onto the wall behind the bench, glancing down into the sandwich box. "Aw man! I knew you'd already eat the-"

Riku just silently gestured to one of the lids that had two halves of a sandwich set aside on them. "No sandwich is worth the complaining I'd have to hear all day if I didn't leave it for you." He popped a piece of coconut into his mouth and chewed contemplatively. Oooh no, I'm not letting you get away with changing the subject like that, mister!

"So...I'm so glad that Sora _found my handkerchief._ And delivered it right to me. Fancy that."

"Yeah. Fancy that." Riku shrugged broadly and took a huge sip of the tea Sora had no doubt bought for him from the cart.

Sora, mouth half full of sandwich, piped up. "Yeah, he said you thought you left it up in the classroom and that's what you went off looking for, but I guess it had just gotten misplaced under the lunchbox. Lucky!"

I saw Riku twitch a little and give his friend a dirty look. Sora's oblivious earnestness pays off for me again..."Ooh, I see...and then I suppose Riku suggested you bring it over to me so I know it's been found?" I narrowed my eyes at the boy as he continued pretending to be very busy drinking.

"Yeah..." Sora's cheerfulness dimmed a bit as he began looking back and forth between the two of us. "Is...something wrong?"

Clever. Very clever. Spy on me using your friend's innate helpfulness. Riku finally swallowed, eyeing me. "Hey, you just told me to stay here and guard the food. You never said anything about him."

I plopped down onto my place between them on the bench, haughtily turning my nose up. "Geez, this is the thanks I get for sharing."

Sora slipped off from his perch on the back of the bench to sit next to me, clearly baffled. "Did I do something…?"

I gave him a playful shove. "No, silly. Riku just tried to pull a fast one and used you to spy on me. I never lost my handkerchief."

"Wha!?"

Riku clicked his tongue. "Well, you're the one being shady about what you were actually up to. I think I was perfectly justified."

"This, Riku, is exactly why we can never throw you surprise birthday parties." I crossed my arms. "Besides, nothing happened." Riku frowned almost like he didn't believe me. "I'm pretty sure the note was from Irvine. He was just trying to ask me out again."

Sora began violently coughing and Riku scowled, muttering something. I patted Sora on the back a few times, making sure he was okay as he tried and failed to splutter something incoherent.

Riku crossed his arms, and gave me _that look_ like he was trying to cross examine me. "I figured it was something like that...but you said Irvine asked you... _again?_ How many times has he been bothering you?"

"Calm down you two, it's fine. I'm more than capable of handling these things. Besides, you know what he's like. He asks girls out practically every day. I doubt it was completely serious."

"Why would you even go meet with him if you knew he was going to do that? Alone?"

"The note didn't have a name so I had no idea who it was from."

"As if that makes it any better? Why would you meet up with someone when you don't even know who they are? _Alone_!?"

I was getting a little sick of his constant questioning. "Riku, stop. I can handle myself, okay?"

He paused and unraveled a little. "You're right. Sorry."

"And I went because...if someone is taking the chance to confess to me I feel like the absolute least I can do is give them my respect, my time, and ultimately hear them out, no matter who it is coming from. It's not fair to dismiss someone just because they were too shy to sign their name."

"You...have to deal with this a lot?" Sora seemed to finally have recovered from his coughing fit. He was fidgeting, pawing at the lunchbox lid next to him. Ugh, that face he makes when he's worried always makes me so anxious too. I leapt to my feet, shoving one hand each down onto their heads, ruffling their hair. "You both are so over protective!"

They both dodged out under my hands and I sighed, digging my toe into the dirt. "But...thank you. I'm glad I have such great guys looking out for me." I pointed at Riku. "Just _trust_ me..." I moved my other hand over to jab at Sora's shoulder. "And don't you worry! I don't mean to brag but I _am_ a pretty good judge of character. I'm not going to jump at the first invitation that comes my way covered in all the right sparkles and glitter. I'm only..." I lowered both my hands and fiddled with the hem of my uniform. "...I'm only waiting for the right person to ask me."

Sora seemed to be avoiding my eyes again. What was up with him lately? "And...how do you think you'll know? If they are the right person, I mean."

Oh geez, what a complicated question…"Well for starters he definitely needs a good heart. To care for others no matter what shape or size they come in. Then I suppose his spirit would need to shine with just the right light. Light like... the sun that sparkles out on the surface of the ocean. Bright, unfading and shines out ever the clearer when the waves move against it. If I can see a light like that in his eyes when he tries to confess to me he wouldn't even have to say a word."

Neither of them responded.

I pursed my lips. "What? Too sappy?"

"N-no, of course not." Sora stuttered, still staring at his shoes.

Riku sighed heavily. "For you? No. That sounds just about right. Not too many guys out there who would live up to that but I know for sure there has to be at least one. I hope you find him."

"Thanks for the sentiment but don't think you can distract me from working out your punishment for meddling!" I winked at him. "Sora, you get a break today because you were made into an unwitting pawn of this mastermind here." Sora breathed out an audible sigh of relief. "Hmm...well, since you've insisted on trying to insert yourself into my love life I think it's only fair for me to return the favor."

"And how, exactly, are you going to do that?" Riku narrowed his eyes, obviously eager to see what challenge I was going to present to him.

"My revenge will be completely undetected!" I laughed triumphantly. "I couldn't even tell you the number of girls who come up to me asking for advice on how to get your attention, what sorts of things you like, what sorts of things you hate, what colors, what outfits you like the most, on and on...now I try to be reasonable and give useful advice when I can...buuuut…" I smiled devilishly towards him, waiting for him to understand what I was getting at. "I am basically a front for _all_ these interested young women. If I tell them you absolutely adore fluffy widde stuffed unicorns? You'd better believe you're going to have a flood of them coming out of your locker!"

"Oh no..."

Sora started laughing so hard he was doubled over. "They would never believe that though! You need to come up with something small that he absolutely hates but that other people might actually believe he could secretly like. And only tell a few people so then if he does go out with one of them he will never know if or when it's coming."

"Oh now that's just evil!" I giggled. I loved how sometimes he was the perfect partner in crime when it came to making Riku's life hell. Riku leaned over and punched him in the shoulder while I twirled the end of my hair playfully. "Hmm...I'll have to give it some thought...or maaaybe just this time I'll let it go if you promise not to do any more meddling."

Riku raised his arms in a fake surrender. "Fine. I promise. Under threat of unicorns, I promise. Seriously though, Kairi, do you really have that many girls bothering you about me? I find that a bit hard to believe..."

"Pfft. Are you kidding me? You have the whole pretty boy-bad boy thing going on. Not to mention you are actually a good person. You really haven't noticed them trying to flirt with you?"

He lowered his eyes to the dirt. "Maybe...I guess I never really thought..." I sighed and rejoined them on the bench. These boys and their self confidence sometimes…

"Oh come on now. You are a sweet, caring guy. Both of you are. Why wouldn't girls want to give you attention?"

Sora bobbed his knees up and down on the bench. "I'm kinda glad I don't have to deal with that..."

Riku perked up a bit, laughing. "As if you of all people would recognize when a girl likes you. She could rattle off a whole speech about how she knew it was love at first sight and you'd probably still find a way to misinterpret it."

"Would not! Besides, you just admitted you never noticed girls trying to flirt with you."

"Flirting and confessions are two very different things."

I shook my head. "Oh, he notices. He just doesn't believe it for some reason. Honestly..."

I saw many of our classmates had already cleaned up and were heading back inside for the next round of classes and did a quick check of the time myself. It was almost time but I wanted to just sit out here and relax in the breeze just a moment longer...I leaned back and closed my eyes, feeling it ripple across my face. The wind always carried with it a sweet smell: mango. Traces of hibiscus now and again. I could hear the boys doing me the huge favor of packing the leftovers of lunch back up.

"Now that the worlds are connected again there will be plenty of chances to find that special someone, right?" I posed the question, but I could tell from their blank expressions that it wasn't something they really considered worth discussing. Oh well... "I'm so glad everything is finally at peace. The thought of all the worlds reconnecting again seemed so...chaotic and scary. But it was like they just remembered how to fit together and brought all those memories back. I hope it lasts for a long time..." Obviously we know they used to be separated, but now it seems almost impossibly bizarre that they could have ever been that way. I suppose it was like when my memories of Sora disappeared for that one year. They all just slowly started coming back, until it was almost like they should never have been gone in the first place. I glanced over at him as he sat currently pondering things with a bright smile.

I never want to forget him again. It would be too horrible.

Sora cheerfully handed me my folded up lunchbox. "It's great that so many of our friends can visit any time now. Though there is quite a bit that I still haven't gotten used to. Like, when I see someone I don't recognize in town I have to consider if they are a visitor from another place or just someone I haven't seen since I was a kid. It messes with me a little."

I giggled at the thought of him accidentally offending some old woman by offering to show her around because he thought she was a tourist when she actually lived here for decades. "True! It's also strange seeing which of our friends end up in relationships with each other. Sometimes the pairs seem...really out there. Two people who were complete opposites as kids suddenly falling in love...it's strange, isn't it?"

"They do say opposites attract." Riku murmured.

"Mm...I guess..." I'm not really sure why people say that. I guess in some ways that means the two people who approach problems differently could potentially share more solutions with each other that maybe the other one hadn't even considered? But at the same time, wouldn't they fight more often too?

"I think it's best if there is at least some common ground between couples. After all, a couple should be a super strong team! I can't imagine being able to solve many puzzles with someone who was my total opposite." Sora interjected.

I giggled at the frustrated look on Riku's face. He bonked his friend on the head and grumbled. "Your total opposite? So, you mean someone well-educated, attentive and patient? Noted." Riku scoffed and shoved him again, then scooped up my lunch box and started leading the way back.

"Wha...hey!" Sora leaped up instantly, charging after him.

Riku broke into a run; obviously they both had decided on an impromptu race to the classroom. I'd say the two of them are the strongest team I know. Obviously Sora was thinking about two people in a romantic sense, but it still could come across as slightly insulting to his current teammate who was...well...not his _total_ opposite, but very different in a lot of ways. But despite how different the two of them were, I was still always grateful we had each other. I'll never take simple, deary days for granted ever again.

I made my slow way up after them, taking another refreshingly deep breath. What was this worry gnawing at the back of my mind? It can't just be about meeting the principal later...though I had managed to forget that for a while, thanks brain. That cold touch by the gym...that unsettling yet familiar ache in my heart…What could be stirring in the shadows? Could there be something hiding right in front of me?

I hope our peace isn't just a temporary illusion.


	2. Sora: Teamwork

I glared down at the paper. It stared back. Maybe if I strained hard enough it would erupt into flames—like, _pah_ magic laser vision! No one could hold that against me, right? New super powers are notoriously hard to control. Come on words! Write yourselves! Ugh...maybe if I thunk my head on the desk a few times I will be struck by inspiration…

"Cut it out, it's not that bad."

Yeah, of course _you_ would say that, Mr. Been-Done-For-Forever-Already. I peeled my head off the desk slightly to squint over at him. He was sitting over there with that smug look in his eye. It's not my fault Quistis liked choosing the most difficult problems to put on this make up stuff. Sure, she _says_ it's all important things we missed at some point while we were traveling but I think she picks out the hardest bits on purpose as part of some grand revenge scheme. I squished my face back down into the paper.

"I'm gonna be trapped here forever."

At least we only had to do this once a week. But it made me seriously _hate_ Wednesday now. Death-day. It's-the-middle-of-the-week-so-now-you-die day.

"If you're trying to rope me into helping you, you know I can't."

I sat up in frustration and scrubbed at my face. "I can't believe she makes us both start over if she thinks we copied each other! I still say it wasn't cheating. Inspiring each other to come up with the right answer is just teamwork and teamwork is way more beneficial in my life than knowing how fire explosions make new islands show up." I frowned grumpily. How school can make _explosions_ boring is a total mystery.

Riku leaned over and snatched the paper off my desk and scanned it, sighing heavily. "Sora...the names of the volcanoes aren't 'that tall one', 'lumpy nose rock' and 'oh yeah, that flower thing'."

"Hey that last one is right, isn't it? I know it's gotta be right because that one is named after the festival."

He peeked out at me from over the top of the sheet. "Other way around...and what is "lumpy nose rock" supposed to be? Did you just pull three random words out of the air?"

"No! It's that middle one with the..." I got a sudden idea and jumped up, pulling the curtain away from the window so I could gesture over to it in the distance. "That one! See? It has that funny part that sticks out to the side. It looks like a nose."

He followed the path of my finger over to the mountain range in the distance. I could tell he was trying to figure it out in his head for a minute. Not sure why he needs to think about it- its pretty obvious. See? Now he's trying not to laugh so he must see it, too.

"That's...not even a volcano, it's just a mountain."

"But it's kinda red colored isn't it?"

"Color doesn't mean anything."

So much for that theory…I puffed my face out in an attempt to relieve some of this annoying frustration. "This is impossible..."

"Seems you did get one thing right, though."

I brightened. "Really? What's that?"

"You really are going to be here forever."

Ugh…

 _Clack-clack_

I overheard the familiar sound of the classroom door sliding open and instinctively bolted to my seat, grabbing a book at random and shoving it into my face, hoping I could pull my expression into the most convincing studious look ever. I heard light footsteps approaching my desk. Maybe if I put my hand under my chin I can pull the "A+ student" look off properly…

"Not going well, I see." A finger gently nudged the top of my book down and saw Kairi giving me a smile. Phew! It's not Quistis!

I relaxed and smiled back. "Heh...how'd you guess?"

She tapped the top of the book again with her finger. "Upside down."

Oops. I just shut it instead of even attempting to cover for myself. "Kairi...why does geography have to be so hard?"

"You said the same thing about history last week. If I remember correctly, you said 'this is the worst subject, ever!'" She imitated me. Poorly.

I crossed my arms with frustrated vigor. "Well I take it back! At least with history there was some stuff that I could connect with because it was actually, I dunno, relevant." It did certainly make things easier when some of the stuff in the lesson were things I had actually lived through. But how was I supposed to relate to all the different types of rocks? Honestly, if these rocks were so different from each other maybe they should have taught us different names for them from the beginning. I slumped over my desk again. Did I mention I hate Wednesdays?

Kairi rested her hand gently on my head and ruffled my hair, sending a shiver running up my back. When she touches me like this unexpectedly...it's such a frustrating mixture of feelings. I like it so much its embarrassing, which makes me sort of want her to stop. But...at the same time I want her to keep going. It makes me super warm but chilly at the same time, how is that even possible!? Darn it...if she doesn't stop there is no way I can concentrate on anything else, especially not this busywork. Almost like she read my mind, she lifted her hand and walked over to another desk. Once her back was turned I hastily shook my head to clear it.

She grabbed the desk and started shuffling backwards with it, pulling it towards ours. "Well it doesn't feel right to leave without you two so I guess I'm here to help."

Hmm...that does make me wonder, though. If Kairi is a princess of heart does that mean maybe she has some super power ability to read peoples' thoughts? I wonder if she actually _can_ hear what I am thinking. Which would be so _cool_ and...actually...mortifying. That would mean...the other day before lunch when she bent over all unexpectedly and both Riku and I had to quickly look away so we wouldn't accidentally see up, um...if she could read minds, then...oh man, I'd rather _not_ focus on that right now. Besides, I gotta test this out first! I pulled my head up off the desk and concentrated hard in her direction.

Okay! Let's do this! Mind melding powers... _activate_! Explaaain the weaaaather. Give me the answeer to number foooour.

She finished moving the desk and sat down, her eyes making contact with mine. She leaned away a little in surprise, then blinked back, clearly confused. I refused to break contact, concentrating. Her surprise melted away, and...yeah, I definitely just saw a twinkle of something suspicious. Aha! Maybe it _is_ working! Weather! Rain! How does a cloud foooorm? She giggled, reached over and flicked one of my bangs, breaking my concentration completely.

"What are you up to?"

Riku came over to our little desk circle and leaned down on one arm, pushing my forehead back with his finger. "He's probably trying to get into a staring contest to procrastinate, but it's not working."

I shook my head furiously, swatting his hand away. "No! I was just testing to see if Kairi could send me answers telepathically!"

He narrowed his eyes, clearly skeptical. "Uh huh...and where did you come up with that idea?"

I shuffled my feet awkwardly under the desk. "I dunno..."

"Well, I can't send help telepathically but I don't need to, do I? I'm right here." Kairi pulled out a notebook from her bag and started copying down the questions off my paper. "Would one of you kindly hold up the textbook for me so I can see?"

Riku shoved the textbook in my direction as he relaxed back into his seat. I opened it up to the marked pages and held it open and out across the gap in the desks for Kairi to use.

"So how's the festival work coming along? Only a few weeks left..." Riku asked in imitation boredom, clearly fishing for clues, still. Not buying it, Kairi just hummed a little and kept her pen squiggling crisply across the page.

"That wasn't an answer." Riku pressed.

"You know I can't tell you!"

"Tch..." He gave up and crossed his arms, glancing out the window. I get that Kairi wants to keep her oh so secret festival assignment, well, a secret, but it's kind of bugging me too, not knowing anything. It has to be something pretty important, since she was specifically called into the principal's office to learn about it and now refuses even the most basic questions. I wonder how long it's going to take Riku to figure it out, he's definitely putting some good effort in. As much as I want to know, I'm not going to even think about poking the bear that is Kairi when she gets angry. I don't want unicorns coming out of my locker, either.

"Next page please, Sora."

I spun the book around and quickly found the next section marked with the sticky paper for her.

Riku grumbled and leaned forward, tapping the desk with his fingers idly. "It's keeping you pretty busy though, so...it must be a fairly _involved_ project."

She tapped her nose at him and smiled. "You're not getting _any_ information out of me! It is a bit of a relief that club activities are suspended this week though. Not sure how I would keep up with everything if I had to do it all."

I felt a slight pang of guilt and lowered the book a little. "Kairi...um...I can finish this on my own, really. You don't have to..."

"Sora, hold it higher, I can't see." She gave me another view of that sweet reassuring smile of hers. She's way too nice to me…

Okay! That settles things! Battle phase starts now! This worksheet doesn't stand a chance! I opened to a fresh page in my notebook and started marking the questions I still hadn't completed with a flourish.

"It's about time you took things seriously." Riku stood, his chair squealing a bit across the ground in complaint but I kept my eyes firmly locked on my work. No time for any more distractions!

He yawned extra loudly, probably on purpose, and strolled over towards the door. "I need to go take a walk and stretch my legs."

Kairi huffed and I heard her twist around in her chair. "Are you seriously just going to dump all the helping on me now!? Thanks a lot..."

"Oh, I have every confidence in your success. I'm sure you'll be done by the time I get back." He answered, to our joint displeasure.

"Is that a challenge!?" I shouted after him but he only gave me a half wave as he slipped out the door. It's a challenge, all right. Well, if he's going to be that way, there's no way I'm not going to win at this. I'll finish it all in record time! I stretched my hands out in front of me and nodded decisively over to my new study partner.

"Let's do this!"

She got up and switched desks, pushing what was once Riku's right up against mine. "I'll try and highlight the most important parts to help you find the answers, okay? I'll check your work too as we go. Are these the ones you are still having trouble with?"

As she reached over me to grab the assignment sheet, her hair briefly brushed my arm and that same shiver down my spine returned. I felt an incredible urge just to run my hand through the strands, but that would be _super_ creepy. It's not the sort of thing I could just ask permission to do, either. She was so close to me I could barely make out her familiar scent of rose and raspberry. Maybe if I just leaned a little closer...

Nope! Nope! Snap out of it! She's working hard for me and I can't let her down! While I was internally struggling, she was just waiting patiently with a smile on her face for me to answer her question. I cleared my throat uncomfortably and pointed to the middle section. "B-basically all of this..."

"Hmm?" She suddenly started scrutinizing my face. "Are you embarrassed? You're a little red."

"U..um...well..." Not in the way she thinks, but it's not like I'm going to come out and say what was actually on my mind.

"It's okay! Really! Please don't feel bad. I'm glad I can help you with this." She started rubbing my shoulder and I tensed.

Deep breaths. Deeeep breaths."T-thanks...I really appreciate it." I laughed and jabbed at my forehead with the eraser of my pencil. "A thick skull is great for defense but when it comes to learning stuff it kinda gets in the way."

"We just have to put it into a context you'll understand. Ready to show Riku a thing or two about teamwork?"

I nodded, pumping one of my arms in the air. "Let's go! Team Awes-uh...what's our team name?"

She squished her mouth to the side, clearly taking my question quite seriously. "How about something to do with rocks, given the study material? Like...we're the Team that Rocks!"

That's a bit too cheesy, even for me. She must have seen my face and waved me off with a sigh. "Fine, fine, no good. But I'm not about to spend twenty minutes procrastinating. Next idea is the one we settle on, deal?"

Ooh, serious stakes now. I ran my eyes across my homework in hopes that something would inspire me. I spotted the diagram of the volcano on my paper and snapped. "Got it! Team Victory Explosion!"

She opened her mouth to say something, paused, then just released her breath slowly. "It...doesn't exactly roll right off the tongue. Can't we-"

"Hey, you said the next idea is the one we go with!" I frowned. "But I want you to like our team name too, so that's no good..."

Kairi tapped the eraser of her pencil against the desk. "If we could find a way to combine our ideas together..."

"Like...adding a silly rock pun?" I grinned. "I've got a lot of puns, all of great _magmatude_ , you're gonna _lava 'em_!" Man these were so bad...but they always were a good way to get her to cheer up.

She prodded me with the pencil, laughing. "Oh come on, stop it."

Sudden inspiration struck me. "Oh! I got it! For real this time!" I leaned forward in excitement and she reciprocated, hunching across her desk, her face looking eagerly at me to announce my discovery. Gotta wait just a liiiittle bit to build up that dramatic tension before the reveal...aaand...

"Team Landslide Victory!" I cheered, brandishing my hands in front of myself grandly, waiting for her reaction. And judging by her smile, I knew we had a winner.

I held out my hand and she quickly gave it a high five. Before she could pull hers back too far I snatched it up in mine and raised them both up into the air. "Let's Go! Team Landslide Victory!"

She burst into giggles and used her other free hand to cover her mouth in that cute way she's done since forever when she's happy about something. "Okay, okay! Now we have to do the work to live up to our team name."

I sagged a bit in my chair. "Oh...right." Almost forgot about that part...still, with Kairi helping me I'm sure it will go much faster. I don't want to keep her too late after school, either, so time to get started. I looked down at the first troublesome problem, and started to reread it, hoping it would make more sense the fifth time around. Before I could finish the first sentence, I heard Kairi lightly clearing her throat and I glanced back up at her. She was shifting in her seat, like she had something a bit uncomfortable on her mind. I tilted my head at her, wordlessly encouraging her to open up.

She gave me a shy smile in return. "Um...do you think I could have my hand back?"

Wha-? My eyes shot down to my left hand which was still clasping hers tightly and I immediately released it in panic. "S-sorry! I, uh...I didn't..."

Oh _great_. Good job there, hand! I don't even know what sort of excuse I can use for that. I didn't even think about it, it just happened. Something about holding her hand just felt sorta normal and nice that I completely forgot what I was doing. Why is it that my body just does all these stupid things without my permission!? Luckily she didn't seem to be taking it too badly. She just had a relatively neutral look on her face as she gathered up her pencil again.

"It's fine, it just would be a little hard for me to write with only my left hand. I haven't quite mastered using them both like Ven."

I laughed a bit nervously, but since she really didn't seem to mind too badly I guess it wasn't worth worrying too much over right now. I checked the time and nodded to myself. Right, enough time wasted already! Concentrating starts right now!

* * *

I slammed my pencil down onto the paper and made a second note of the time. Done in record time! And, since Riku still wasn't back yet I guess that means we won! Team Landslide Victory has truly lived up to its name today!

"Kairi! Guess what I-"

My voice caught in my throat as I saw her. She really must be overworking herself—she was passed out cold on the textbook. I wonder what could be so important about Kono Fes this year that they are working her so hard. Maybe I should go complain to the principal...except then she would probably get mad at me for meddling and start telling people I liked putting sugar on my rice or something equally horrible.

It's hard not to worry, but I know her. If she really couldn't handle it she would say something. She pushes herself really hard, but she knows her limits. I'm going to put tons of extra effort into her present tonight to make sure I can finish it in time for the festival, though. I just have to make sure I don't end up overdoing it and falling asleep in class again since that just makes everything harder for her in the long run. It also might end up making me give away my secret if she gets too suspicious about why I'm sleepy. But if she gets a secret to keep for the festival, than I get mine, too! It's only fair.

She's never been ungrateful about presents, so I know she's going to like it, but...that still doesn't make me any less nervous. Maybe I really should run the idea past Namine first. She'd know if it was good, right? No...Kairi would definitely find out about it that way. Can't tell Xion either. Even Olette wasn't safe. I'd tell Aerith or Tifa but that whole _town_ isn't safe because Yuffie likes spying on everything and jumping out saying something like "Har, har, I got ya! Master Ninja strikes again!" And telling Yuffie is...nope. Definitely not Selphie. Argh! I don't know enough girls!

I sighed a little and glanced out at the rapidly lengthening shadows outside as twilight started fading into dusk. Oh well...I reached over to gently wake her but froze, my hand left hanging indecisively in the air. She must be _really_ tired if she feel asleep here. She always complains about how she'd never be able to sleep in these chairs and yet…

She sighed deeply, moving to nestle her head against the desktop. Great! Now I'm jealous of furniture. That same shiver kept coming back. Why do I keep getting this feeling even only when I look at her? Maybe it wouldn't hurt, to just keep watch for a minute or two...only a minute...

Everything about her is so...indescribable. The way her hair falls over her face, that smile as shes dreaming, those little sighs she has every now and then, everything so...perfect. Perfect and absolutely untouchable. Aaargh! This is like the most wonderful torture ever conceived. She's so close and yet there's nothing I can do. What do I even want to do? I almost can't bear it any more.

There is definitely no one else that makes me feel like this. And it's only gotten worse. At first I could ignore it for the most part, but now it's getting to the point where I'm accidentally trying to hold her hand of all things. She's not as good as Riku at figuring things out, but she's really clever too so at this rate she's bound to suspect something soon...

I definitely can't hide this for much longer. Maybe I can't any more. I have to tell her how I feel. I'll...I'll tell her now! I'll wake her up and-

No. No, no, no. Don't be stupid. How utterly unromantic would that be? She'd never appreciate that. She said she's got this perfect guy in mind, this perfect moment...ugh, that isn't me, that couldn't possibly be me! If I confess everything she'll just get upset like she did with Irvine, and...

I dropped my arm hopelessly, puffing air up at my bangs in frustration and watched her rest, completely unaware.

I wonder how much we can remember of what is told to us while we sleep. I remember Quistis saying something about that being a way to study. You could have someone tell you the information while you slept and then somehow it would get into your mind and you'd wake up knowing it but not really knowing it. Then I guess if they gave you a test you could answer the questions right or...something like that? I don't really remember. But maybe it's true that if someone tells you something while you sleep you pick up on it a little, but won't really remember it, not entirely. It could be worth a try...right?

But what if she wakes up?

I leaned in closer towards her, feeling my face heat up as a few strands of her hair lightly brushed against me. I could barely hear anything over the banging sound in my ears, the thumping growing faster every second. I slowly, ever so slowly opened my mouth just a crack.

"Kairi…?" I whispered so quietly I couldn't even hear it myself.

Stillness. Nothing. I decided to test it out again.

"Can you hear me?"

No response. Okay time to _really_ see if she wasn't just pretending.

"Kairi, you're late to tennis practice." I tried, a little louder.

She stirred a little this time, moaning. I pulled back, no doubt blushing pretty heavily, watching her hand clenching slightly around the edge of her skirt until she ultimately fell still again. Hopefully I didn't just give her a bad dream. Sorry about that.

I took a few deep steadying breaths. If saying that did give you a bad dream, I hope maybe this gives you a good one. I took a deep breath, and kept my voice fairly low. "Kairi...I...need to tell you something."

Nothing else in that room mattered anymore- just her tranquil face smiling in her sleep. I've been so scared to tell her a thing, but at least knowing she is asleep made my fear that little bit more manageable. "Kairi...you're my light. You always have been. I-I know I'm..."

Why couldn't I stop my voice from shaking!? I just tried to push through, determined to finally speak up. "I-I'm just a stupid boy who stumbles my way through things. I was never really a-ament to-mount-" I paused, for a moment, trying to stop the nonsense from getting worse. Once I felt my voice settle, I started again. "I was never meant to a-amount to anything special and I know I'm ignorant about lots of stuff b-but there's one thing I will always be sure of, more than anything else."

I took another deep breath. Here it goes, I guess. "Kairi, I li-"

 _Clack-clack_

The door. I jolted upright away from Kairi's sleeping form, my face still burning as I turned to see who was entering through the doorway. Riku was stopped still in the frame, holding it open with his arm stretched straight out, staring back at me with this _really_ weird look on his face. It was almost like he was kinda mad about something. Did something happen to him outside? I must have bumped into Kairi slightly when I was startled because she was obviously waking up now. She mumbled something incoherent and rubbed at her eye with one hand, covering her yawn with the other.

"Mm? Sora?" She lowered her hands and drowsily smiled at me. "What happened? Was I asleep?"

I laughed a little, hoping the color had drained from my face somewhat. "Yeah...for a bit. It seemed like you needed it."

A slight panic brushed across her features and she started grabbing at the papers on the desk. "Oh no! I really was asleep!? Why didn't you wake me up!? Your work is-"

"All done! Ta-da!" I brandished it over towards her and she snatched it up, scanning my answers carefully.

As she did so, I leaned to glance back over at where Riku was still frozen in the doorway. Something was definitely off with him. Don't tell me he heard what I was saying…? How could he from all the way over there? I _really_ hope he didn't hear me. Uuugh…

"Hey...uh...are you mad about something?" I asked, hoping the answer was no.

Seeming to snap back into reality, Riku stepped through the doorway and finally dropped the door, letting it slide shut with another clack. "Just a little."

Uh oh…

He flicked at my forehead but I dodged back in time for him to miss. He clicked his tongue at me and folded his arms. "But only because it looks like you beat me to the finish line."

I inwardly heaved a huge sigh of relief. So, he's just upset that Team Landslide Victory is awesome, huh? I can live with that! I couldn't hide my grin and he attempted to flick his finger at me again.

"Oh well, I suppose that's better for the both of us that you're finished. It's fantastic how simple you are to motivate sometimes. He _is_ finished, right Kairi?"

Yeah, yeah, yuck it up all you want. I know I got a victory today. Besides, I know I did a good job. It was written all over Kairi's face. She was positively beaming.

"Yeah! Looks great! I'll go turn the papers in for you guys while you get packed up! Meet you down by the shoe cubby!" She scooped up my work and fished Riku's off the spare desk, humming happily to herself as she did so. What was she so giddy about? I didn't even get to finish what I was trying to tell her, so I doubt it was that...

I closed up all the books and helped pack her pencils away for her in her case. "You feeling okay?"

She giggled. "Yeah! It's so funny but for some reason I feel like I could just fly right now. But I have no idea why."

Riku abruptly spun around, I guess to start packing up his bag or something. "Maybe you had a good dream..."

Kairi looked absolutely radiant. "I bet I did! I wish I could remember it, it must have been fantastic. It didn't start that way, though. From what I remember, I was being bombarded by rogue tennis balls and I couldn't find my racket for the longest time. When I finally did, it kept shrinking until it was completely useless and then I lost it altogether!"

I laughed, picturing her swinging around a tiny ant-sized tennis racket. Maybe that would be a fun version of tennis that someone could make, where everyone had to use doll equipment. But I had no time to mention that now, as she continued her story with enthusiasm.

"After I wasn't able to find my racket I just used my Keyblade instead until everything was...I don't know. Different. Because it changed and...I think I was flying! Or completely wrapped up in the air. I felt so comfortable...and everything smelled like the tea olive trees in full bloom..."

"Maybe you were riding on a big fluffy sheep, flying to the moon!" I suggested, but she just shook her head.

"Whatever it was, it's left me in a great mood. And besides that, I'm so proud of you! Thanks for working so hard to get everything done."

"I couldn't have done it without your help. Team Landslide Victory wins!"

She was still prancing around, completely giddy and I couldn't help but feel my grin widening just looking at her.

"Mm! So I guess you deserve a reward for winning, right?" She bit her lower lip for a moment then unexpectedly bounded up to me, wrapping her free hand around the knot of my loosened uniform tie. She yanked on it hard, lurching me forward. I didn't even have time to register that I was falling before she had already braced herself against me. Her lips, pressed gently against the side of my cheek.

And time absolutely froze.

That wonderful familiar smell of roses and raspberries filled my senses and I trembled, spluttering out nonsense. She pulled away slowly, lingering just a moment in the space between us. I could still feel her touch. Her voice, barely a murmur near my ear.

"Well done, you silly bum."

Even as she released me, giggled and floated her way out of the room, I could still feel the sensation of her lips against my face. I couldn't move. I didn't want to.

Ow! Something heavy thumped into the back of my head and Riku was giving me a sour look.

"Are you done staring into space? We've been stuck here long enough, let's go already."

I felt indescribable joy bubbling up from the very soles of my shoes and I couldn't stop smiling. I felt like I had way too much energy and needed to go run a few laps around the school track or something before I could even process anything else. Riku threw his arm over my shoulder and he sighed heavily into me, punching down onto my head with his other hand. I saw a slight smile also creep its way onto his grumpy features. "Geez, you're hopeless..."

I laughed and slipped out from under his grip, snagging my school bag from the back of the chair. I felt like I could do anything. This was the best victory I've ever had, hands down. "I am totally never going to lose to you again!"

"Oh, we'll see about that!"

I could hear his footsteps chasing me and I had to duck to escape the first swipe he made at the strap of my book bag. I never thought I would ever believe this but now I've decided: I _love_ Wednesdays.


	3. Riku: Simple Complexity

_The beauty of our islands must in part be attributed not to our wide variety of flora, fauna or landscapes—but instead the source mother of all these wonders: Konohana, the volcanic home of the spirit Sakuya. No one has ever seen her, but all the legends agree that is she both beautiful and fearsome; fierce yet kind._

 _Were one to travel far enough back into the past, one would see nothing but an endless expanse of ocean. It was the cataclysmic eruption of Konohana beneath the waves that started everything. Through her power these islands that are our home, were formed. We still celebrate this occurrence during the Konohana-ShimaUmi Fire Festival. Often colloquially referred to as "Kono Fes". The most notable activity during this festival is the ritual burning of various offerings on wooden pyres scattered across the ocean on boats. Volcanoes by their nature both create and destroy. Through the fire of destruction comes new life._

 _All are openly encouraged to place an offering into a boat to symbolize the passing, then birth of something new. In other words, something we wish to release in order to fully move forward with our lives. Commonly chosen among the people are ornaments of dried grass woven into a personally symbolic shape. A variety of these are always sold at the festival, so don't stress!_

 _This will be the first festival celebrated since The Reconnect, and we openly welcome all visitors to our ocean of the world. And on such a unique occasion, perhaps something unusual will happen. Maybe you'll meet someone new! Curious? Come visit and see!_

 _Should you have any questions please ask any volunteer wearing a special Island Greeting Committee pin or badge._

It's obvious Selphie has been sparing no effort to make this festival special; even these pamphlets look incredibly professional. I get that the girls wanted us out of their hair for the music auditions but I still have no idea why she assigned us the particular task of handing these things out. Sora, sure. He's having an absolute field day bouncing around doing that stupid jingle he came up with while I'm just standing here awkwardly like a glorified magazine rack. I'm absolutely not cut out for this whole promotional circus mess.

I checked up on my friend and saw him off on the other side of the courtyard, bending down, excitedly chatting with a small boy and his mother. Judging by his gestures he was probably trying to get the kid to show off the action figure he was clutching. I never really did get the hang of working with kids. They always just...stare.

"Excuse me? Boy? Could I have one of these?" A voice addressed me from behind.

Nice attitude. "Sure. Hold on." I shifted the stack over to my other arm so I could more easily hand her one off the top.

She ripped it from me and started scrutinizing the front with extreme care. As she did so, I noticed a small girl hiding just behind her legs, staring at me intently. What a surprise. What would Sora do right now? Try to talk to the kid, right? I gave her the best smile I could manage.

"...hey."

The little girl coughed and pushed a dirty finger up against her already extremely smudged glasses, still eyeing me suspiciously.

"Looks like your hands are a little dirty. You should get cleaned up befo-"

The woman shoved the brochure towards me and jabbed her finger into an image at the bottom of the front cover. "Is this you!?"

I stared blankly at the page. My face stared back. Great. Someone noticed. I never should have given them permission to use that picture. Does Selphie have any idea how embarrassing it is to hand out something with your face plastered on the front? It's hubris manifest.

"Hello!?" Her beady eyes glared, but I just kept my face as neutral as possible.

"Yes. The islands are-"

She slammed the pamphlet back into my arms, scattering the rest of the stack down to the ground. "Well! I refuse to go to any event run by someone who would dare to question the cleanliness of my child in such an obvious complaint about my parenting!" She scooped up the small girl, dirty glasses and all and marched away testily.

"Okay..." I'm really bringing them in in droves, aren't I? Great job! I saw the small girl giving me a wave with her tiny hand as she was being dragged away. At least the kid seemed to warm up to me a little, that's _one_ positive. I knelt down to gather the papers before they dared blow away on me, catching sight of Sora scurrying over to help.

He tried to give me a reassuring smile as he collected some. "She was probably just having a bad day."

"Thanks, but look, I really don't think I'm-"

"Relax, already! You're doing fine!"

I gestured back at the mother storming off with my thumb. "You'd call _that_ doing fine?"

"Well..." He brushed the back of his head nervously and trailed off.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." I stood up and dusted off the front of my pants with the spare hand not wrapped around these stupid fliers. "You'll be much more effective without-"

"Wait, Riku, stay...please?"

Great, he's giving me that sad puppy face. I can't just ignore him when he looks at me all miserable like that. "Ugh, fine."

He immediately perked up, the goof. I prodded him in the chest. Can't have him thinking I'm that easy to manipulate. "But you owe me big time for forcing me out here. I was perfectly happy just setting up a table and being done with it. I bet you don't want me to leave because then you'll lose your dedicated pack mule."

"That's not true! I was just hoping doing something a little different might cheer you up a bit."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "If I'm sad it's news to me."

He kicked at a few pebbles on the ground. "Not sad, just...distant. You're obviously kind of stressed out about something, or at least more worried than usual..." He glanced over at me hesitantly.

Of course. Sneaking past this one can often be the easiest thing in the world because he is about as observant as a pigeon but when it comes to troubles in my heart he's got uncanny pinpoint accuracy. I grabbed a pamphlet and smacked the top of his head with it. "I appreciate it. But this is NOT my idea of a stress-free activity."

He snatched the stack away from me. "It's not really how I wanted to spend this afternoon either but Selphie was so insistent it was scary."

"Well, you know why she wanted to get rid of us, right?"

"Huh? She wanted to get rid of us? Why?"

"So we don't figure out Kairi's little secret." It was obvious that whatever Kairi was doing for the festival was at least somewhat involving music. If they needed to chat about it at the auditions, they obviously didn't want either of us catching wind of anything. "I still think they could have given us a less demeaning job."

"Come on, it's not _that_ bad. Besides, you look really cool in this picture!" He waved it in my face. I glared at him. Or, glared at myself I suppose. "But you're still missing your smile..." He reached up to try and pull my face so I swatted him away as fast as I could. He laughed, but I could tell there was something serious lurking behind his eyes. He knew I was feeling off, and just like him he wanted to fix it. Before he could press further, a couple brushed past us and Sora immediately slipped back into the theatrics. "Hey! I'm here representing the Destiny Islands Greeting Committee! How are you doing to...day?"

He trailed off as the woman of the two huffed and impatiently stomped over to a nearby shop window, glaring into it.

"Was it something I said…?" Sora tried to apologize but the girl's date only waved him off forlornly.

"No...no...don't worry about it. She's been like that all day. Super angry without giving me a single reason why."

"Mm..." Sora tilted his head and shifted back and forth. "I don't really know much about what's going on but to me she seems more sad than anything else."

I'm not sure why he thinks she's sad, she stomped off pretty heavily to go glare at that purse. Though...wait a minute, she isn't looking at the _purse_ , she's staring at our reflections in the glass. And while from all the way over here the reflection her face isn't too clear, it's obvious she's pretty miserable. He might be right...

Sora was also intently staring over in the girl's direction. "Did you try talking to her?"

"No! She'll just get mad because I don't know why she's mad or something stupid like that!"

My friend suddenly made a weird face over in the direction of the shop window. The girl snorted in surprise, quickly stifled it and pretended she was coughing. Sora gave her date a shrug. "See, she's not too mad. You should just go talk to her and be honest about everything. I'm sure she'll listen."

"What's the point? When she's mad I don't want to say anything to make it worse."

Sora frowned. "But maybe that's the problem. She maybe thinks you're ignoring her?"

"Whatever, I guess it's worth a try..." He scurried off after his date and gingerly grabbed her hand from behind.

I couldn't hear what they were saying from here, but she didn't seem to be running off from him so I assume it isn't going too terribly. Sora glanced back at me smugly. " _See?_ This is why opening up is important."

Yeah, yeah, message received. After eyeing me a moment, he finally just outright asked. "So...anything that you needed to talk about?"

On the one hand I could come clean about certain things, but this was definitely not the right place. I have a guess as to how he is going to react; it's Sora after all. He's always going to try and be supportive. But...there's still too high a chance that things won't go well. And, of course, he was right that I have been a little distant but mostly because I have no idea how I am even going to spit this out. And I can kick myself and call myself a coward all I want but I just can't bear to see his face if this hurts him…

Ugh. But the longer I sit spinning this through my brain the more he is going to worry. Only one thing to do for now: deny, defer, deflect. "It's true there's some stuff on my mind. I can't hide that from you. I just...need a bit more time to sort things out."

"Hmm…?" He leaned forward, face squished up at me. "Are you _sure_?"

I shoved him away, laughing. "I mean it. I promise I'll let you know as soon as I can. Fair?"

He crossed his arms. "I dunno...I don't like feeling like you're keeping secrets from me. First Kairi, now you..." He gave me a light punch in the arm. "But a promise is a promise! I trust you. Whenever you're ready."

Hoping to change the subject, I checked up on the couple across the courtyard. They were now hugging.

"Good for them." Sora smiled contentedly.

"Hmm. Good job. Except you missed one thing."

"Huh? What's that?"

I brandished a brochure at him. "We were supposed to hand _these_ out, remember? Not be playing relationship doctor."

"...Oops."

He plopped the stack down to the ground and cupped his hands to his mouth, shouting out across the entire shopping street. "Hey! You two!"

Several groups of people turned to stare at us, including the two he was addressing. He crumpled the top paper up into a tight ball and hurled it over, smacking the guy in the shoulder. "Perfect for a romantic date! Ask her out!"

I covered my face with my hand. Sora, that was...not subtle at all. A trio of teenage girls who likely had their attention drawn thanks to this troublemaker started making their way straight towards us, giggling as they did so.

"Hey...will more cute guys like you two be there?"

"We're hoping lots of people will be there, so it's likely!" Sora cheerfully offered them a flier.

I buried my face under my hand further. Sometimes I have no idea if he really is this clueless or if he does it on purpose. The girl in front accepted the flier with a wink and started comparing the front cover to me, then the front cover again, then back to me. A horrifyingly sly grin slipped up across her lips. "And what contest do I have to enter when I'm there to win _this_ for my prize." She fluttered her eyes and tapped her finger over the image of my face.

Sora laughed. "You mean the fruit he's holding? It's famous! They grow all over so I'm sure if you want you can find one super easy! As far as I know, though, there isn't a raffle but there might be time to set one up. I'll make sure to ask about it for you!"

"Thanks, sweetheart. I'll look forward to it." She winked at me and giggled.

"Great! Hope to see you there!" Sora called after their group as they pulled each other away, tittering madly.

He is the most baffling duality wrapped up in one person. One minute he can somehow see through every false wall someone puts up to hide their heart and break it down like nothing, the next he is absolutely oblivious to even basic flirting. He really must be doing it on purpose. I can't imagine he is actually that naive about things.

"Hey losers, what you up to? Are those your school uniforms? Totally preppy."

Hm. Looks like Hayner and his posse have decided to come shopping. Sora's face lit up and he darted forward to greet them, leaving me behind to watch the papers.

"Guys! I was really hoping we would have the chance to see you today! I thought you would be too busy at school..."

"Nope! Half day, lucky us!" Pence grinned.

Olette lifted a paper off of his pile and checked it over quickly. "Oh! Advertising for the festival I guess? Where's Kairi?"

Sora pouted. "I dunno, she won't tell us. Some festival thing. But she said it was going to be something really special. You three are coming, right?"

"Well yeah! They have been promoting that new ferry route like crazy so we got discount tickets!" Pence patted his stomach. "Besides, no way am I turning down free festival food!"

"I thought we agreed you were going to be more careful about your diet this year?" Olette clicked her tongue at him.

"But this is only once a year..."

"Always the same excuse." She sighed, then waved me over. "Riku, why are you standing all the way over there looking so serious? Get over here!"

"He's always serious." Hayner mumbled as he scanned the flier. "Nice! You guys are gonna burn stuff!?"

"Wait, really!?" Pence pulled at the paper to try and read it too.

Olette stomped her foot. "It's not about burning things! It's about renewal and moving past hardships! It's super romantic!"

"Olette...you have your preferences, I have mine. So Sora, what are you going to toast into smithereens? Or maybe...you're going to listen to Olette and you have something special planned for your _girlfriend_."

"That's...she's not..." Sora tried hiding behind his hands but it was obvious his face was starting to redden. Perfect opportunity for some revenge.

"Hey Sora, why don't you tell them about how Kairi kissed you the other day."

Yep, that did it. Sora, Hayner and Pence were absolutely frozen, the silence broken by Olette shrieking as she grabbed at my friend's hands. "What!? Sora, that's wonderful!"

"N-no that's not-"

Hayner scoffed. " _She_ had to kiss _you_ come ON, man you really need to learn how to make a move."

"B-but-"

Pence clapped his hands together. "You need to tell us about it. Come on, you can't just spill that without any details!"

Sora looked pathetically back at me, Olette still holding his hands captive so he couldn't slink away behind them any more. Hmm...should I help him or not? Maybe I'll let him squirm just a _tiny_ bit longer. This is payback for making me hand out those stupid pamphlets.

"It wasn't...well I mean it was, technically, b-but I don't think she meant to- well she obviously meant to—because she did it, obviously, but it was only because I'm bad at learning stuff, obviously, and then she had a dream about a sheep—OH but it obviously wasn't a sheep it was-"

Hayner cut him off. "What the heck are you talking about? Nothing about that was "obvious" at all."

"He's stalling..." Pence chuckled.

Olette rolled her eyes and dropped his hands. "Ugh, Riku's smiling so this is more than likely only some joke. Care to fill the rest of us in?"

Time's up, I suppose. "Sorry. Kiss was on the cheek."

Olette stomped her foot again. "You could have just said that earlier!"

"But then we couldn't see him make a complete idiot of himself." Hayner laughed and clapped Sora on the back. "But hey, a kiss on the cheek isn't too bad, right?"

Sora sighed. "Way better than not too bad..."

Pence pointed to him, snorting. "Roxas was right, he really does get that look on his face when he thinks about her."

"Wh-what? Hey!"

I decided to finally bail him out. "Speaking of Roxas, where's he at today? I would love to oh so kindly _request_ his assistance."

Hayner rifled through the remainders of the papers I had brought over with me. "Geez, how long have you guys been at this?"

"Not including travel time, about four hours." I answered.

"Four hours!?" Hayner shivered. "So basically now I have to figure out if Roxas has been bothering me this enough week to deserve getting thrown under the bus or not."

Olette rolled her eyes at her friend, then pointed further down the shopping street in the direction of some of the more specialized boutiques. "You're too late to board the favor train. Xion and Namine dragged him off dress shopping."

Sora tilted his head to the side. "But why does Roxas need a dress?"

"To give to you, of course." I knocked on his head. Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.

Olette cleared her throat. "...Anyway, they left about two hours ago so they must be almost done. Maybe until then we could-"

Hayner turned on his heel and marched off, dragging Pence with him. "Nope, nope, nope! Good luck with all that guys, see you at the festival!"

Pence waved helplessly back as he was carted off. "S-sorry guys, good luck with everything."

Olette hung back a bit, keeping an eye on her friends before they disappeared into the crowds. "Mind if I take some? I probably won't be able to convince Hayner to help but I'll get Pence to hand them out with me later over at Sunset Station."

"Don't feel like you have to." I said as she started scooping up a good portion of them.

"It's fine. I wouldn't feel right leaving you guys with all the work. Besides, I'm used to doing worse favors thanks to those two knuckleheads. But Sora, if I do this you have to promise me something."

"Uhh...what's that?"

She leaned in and whispered something in his ear. He flushed and stumbled backwards a few steps. "I-I can't!"

"Sure you can!" She tapped her cheek. "Here is okay too, just so long as you do it!"

"Wait a minute, I never agreed to-" He lunged forward, attempting to snatch the pamphlets away from her.

"Too late!" She slipped away into the crowd. I shouted thanks after her and she hastily waved her arm up into the air in response as she rushed to catch up with her friends.

And I was left once more alone with Sora, who was now looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"So...she ordered you to kiss Kairi?"

He wordlessly snatched part of my pile of papers away from me and went back to handing them out, but his face was the only confirmation that I needed.

* * *

It felt a little less hopeless now that the stack was dwindling down more noticeably. I could tell Sora was still agitated about something even after a while so I prodded him with a raised eyebrow. He grumbled something to himself and kicked at the ground.

"Why does everyone always tease me about her? It's not fair..."

Before I could break it down for him, a familiar voice spoke up for me. "Because you're a total dork and its hilarious."

I saw Roxas snickering as he approached, skateboard tucked under one arm.

"Oh, yeah? Look who's talking!" Sora reached over and bumped fists with his other half, brightening back to his normal self. "Do you think you could help us pass these out? At this rate we'll be here all day."

"Yeah, yeah, figured you'd ask. I saw you guys earlier."

"Wha…? And you didn't feel like saying anything!?"

"I had stuff to take care of first, alright?"

"...Dress shopping?" I confirmed with him. Roxas started to nod before I quickly interjected. "How'd they fit?"

Roxas deadpanned in my direction. "Yeah, well, nice to see you too, buddy."

"Weren't Namine and Xion supposed to be with you?" Sora searched the area for them but clearly came up short.

"Still at the shop. I finally got the okay to leave after being dragged through about ten of 'em. You know how Xion gets with fashion stuff..."

Sora hummed. "She still hasn't settled on a style she likes yet?"

"Not even in the slightest. Just says she wants to try them all. I mean, I'm all for supporting her sorting her identity out because, you know, I get it. But I can only help so much before I start forgetting what color matches with what and what patterns are the best together and gah..."

"I'm sure at least they appreciate the effort." Sora tried to be comforting but we both know how intense Xion can be when she gets inspired by something.

"I just hope she settles on something soon. Today she wanted to go for...what was it again…?"

"Don't look at me." I gestured to the stack of papers. "How about we discuss this while we work so we aren't at this all day."

"Right...if we follow this path we should be able to put up a lot of these on the community bulletin boards." He split the remaining fliers into thirds for each of us to take and lead us down an alley through another part of the shopping road past that bakery with the really nice espresso.

"Anyway, yeah they gave it some weird name like "sweets style" or uh..." Roxas caught sight of the bakery sign advertising glazed doughnuts. ""Sugar style", that was it!"

I took a stab at decoding it. "You mean cute dresses with lots of pastels, ribbons and lace? Things like that?"

"Yeah, basically."

Sora was clearly trying to picture it. "Hmm...that works for Namine, maybe...but Xion…?"

"That's what I said!"

"And what would you recommend instead then?" I posed, hanging up a few fliers at the first billboard. Thankfully the community kept free use tacks supplied in little boxes down below so we didn't have to bother bringing any or poaching off an already posted flier. As we tacked them up, Sora pondered over the world of women's fashion.

"Uh…I dunno. Namine always likes really simple, plain things. Olette likes dressing really casual too. Aqua always looks really...elegant?"

"I don't think that's a style but I get what you mean." Roxas hummed in agreement, then added his own. "Kairi always seemed kinda sporty to me."

Sora nodded after some contemplation. "Huh...I can see that, yeah. So if I had to pick something for Xion it would probably be...none of those? She needs her own thing, right?"

I laughed. "That still leaves a lot of options." I sensed a familiar presence and turned my head slightly to see the girl in question approaching, Namine following close behind her. I offered them both a quick head nod, but I could tell neither Roxas or Sora had spotted her yet, because they were still trying to do their best to list every single possible remaining clothing style. Today, Xion was wearing a light purple floral sundress with a dark jacket over the top covered in small colored pins. The color looked nice on her, but the style definitely did seem a bit...off. Her hair, a bit more grown out than when I last saw her, was pinned back behind her ears with some butterfly clips. She has been working hard at trying to select an identity she is happy with, and it clearly shows she hasn't settled on any one thing. Eclectic style, I suppose.

Sora frowned and stepped away from the board after hanging the last paper up. "Well what about if she tried something mixed together? Kinda casual yet, kinda edgy?"

"Good suggestion. Maybe I'll try that next." Xion giggled just behind him, startling them both completely.

Roxas looked the most surprised. "What are you two doing here? You said you were going to still be another-"

Namine pushed something into his hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go. "You forgot your wallet."

"I'm glad we spotted it on the chairs. You really need to learn to be more careful with your stuff." Xion scolded him.

Her and Namine were usually hanging out together these days, the two of their personalities complimenting each other like a nice cherry pie: both sweet and tart. I could definitely see now and again where small bits of Kairi shined out from each of them, but they were still very clearly different. It was interesting to spot the similarities when dealing with them. Sora and Roxas as well had so many similar quirks despite being different people.

Just like now, Roxas was nervously rubbing the back of his head in the exact same way Sora does when he gets embarrassed. "...thanks. Sorry for the trouble."

It really was like Sora had found himself a brother.

"It's no trouble." Namine smiled and floated over towards me and Sora, giving us each a pleasant hand squeeze as well. "It's nice to see you again."

Sora agreed cheerfully. "Well yeah, of course! But we just saw you three days ago. You make it sound like it's been ages."

"I'm sorry...I think I'm still having trouble adjusting to everything."

She was alone for a long time and clearly resigned herself to life that way so it's understandably difficult to bring herself back from that mindset. But she needs to know we aren't going to just abandon her. I shook my head in her direction. "You don't have to apologize, Namine."

My friend also tried some more bright words of encouragement. "I can always come every day to visit if it helps you feel better faster!"

She clutched her hands to her chest and smiled serenely down at them. "That's sweet, but I could never request such a big burden."

"It's not a burden!" Roxas chimed in, wrapping himself over Sora's shoulder. "Between the both of us, you definitely won't be alone again."

"Yeah!" Sora also had now apparently noticed Xion's clothing choice. "Hey, by the way Xion, your outfit looks pretty nice today. Is that one Roxas picked out?"

She beamed. "Thanks, but no, it's not. I've been trying this style dress for a few days but I'm really not sure about it and I'm still hoping to get more opinions..." Hinting obviously, she turned her face to me and I stared. "What do you think, Riku?" She looked at me with hope-filled eyes, spinning around with a cute little bounce so I could see.

"The...color is good."

Her face immediately crashed. "Oh..."

What does she want me to say? It's not like I know anything about clothes. Maybe she is looking for some kind of criticism to improve on. "It's a little too girly for you, maybe." I blurted out.

Xion's joy shriveled instantly and I inwardly punched myself. Sora, you had better wipe that stupid look off your face. I hate when I get taken off guard by stuff like this, it always makes me sound like an idiot.

"I really like the jacket." Sora attempted to salvage my slip-up. "Especially all the pins at the bottom. It must have taken a while to collect them all."

She nodded and brandished them forward. "I thought, hey, I want a hobby but I'm like the _only_ girl we know who can't craft for the life of me! I figured I'd just make collecting my hobby and give pins and hair clips a try right now. I hope you don't mind, but I've also re-purposed some of those old glass display cases at the clubhouse. I've been putting some of my collections inside for everyone to see."

That certainly does sound like a good use for those things that were just otherwise thrown into the corner of the garden. At least now we don't have to have any more arguments about if they are supposed to be recycled on glass day or large furniture day. Sora barely even registered what she had said about the display cases, as he was still grabbing at her coat to get a good look at the different pins.

"Whoa! This one is super cool! Where did you get it?" He marveled at one that I think had an image of some kind of lavender dragon. It was a bit hard to see from here.

"A shop in Disney Town had a whole bunch. I got this one there, too."

Roxas drew his attention over to a different one on her arm. "I really enjoyed this one. Figured you'd like it too."

Sora's eyes widened and he gasped, bouncing between his feet. "No way! Riku! Look! I'm on a pin!" He gestured at it desperately, trying to get me to see. "Riku! Riku, look! This one is _you_!"

I humored him and took a look. To be fair, well, it did _kind of_ look like us. Squished miniature versions of us with huge round faces and buggy eyes. Art is...interesting, sometimes. "Who decided to make these?"

"Aqua gifted them to me, actually. She said the town by her castle has a lot of silly Keyblade wielder stuff. Someone who lives there is a huge fan and opened a huge novelty shop. I was only interested in the pins but she said there were posters, art cards, even some plushies."

Sora doubled over in laughter. "Oh man I gotta go there!" He cast me a devilish smile. Yeah, no. No way am I letting you buy _anything_ with my face on it.

"Anyway, we should plan a trip up there together, I'd be fun." Xion grinned, reclaiming her sleeve away from Sora's grabbing mitts. "But for now the two of us should get back to our shopping."

More like _your_ shopping. I doubt Namine is buying many new clothes. She's the sort of girl who would probably wear the same outfit every day if she could get away with it.

Xion gave us a parting wave. "Right, maybe we'll see ya later!"

I saw Namine hesitating a little bit and before following, she scurried up to me and gently lifted up a few pamphlets from out of my arms. "I won't leave without at least helping you a little..."

Sora thanked her profusely, and the two girls both parted with another cheery goodbye.

Roxas lowered his arm as he watched them turn the corner and disappear from view. "When we go to that shop, make sure Kairi comes. I haven't been able to see her in a while."

"Yeah...between festival prep, clubs and make up work she's been busier than normal." Sora answered glumly.

"But I bet whatever she's doing is gonna be pretty spectacular. Let's make sure to pass these out so everyone can come see." It was nice seeing Roxas so optimistic lately. It was definitely forward progress, he certainly looked healthier and happier than ever.

The three of us continued putting up posters intermittently until we reached what appeared to be the last bulletin board on the street and pinned up another swath of papers.

Roxas counted out how many remained. "Okay, so for the last few of these I can just use my skateboard and do it myself to reach the other spots, it'll be faster."

"Are you sure?" Sora hesistated.

"It's fine, I've got a lot of practice doing this sort of thing. Helping out at all those Struggle Tournaments and whatnot. Which also reminds me..."

"I'm in this year! Definitely!"

Roxas' mouth curled upwards. "I wouldn't be so excited if I were you. I'm gonna get you out, round one."

"Oh, really?"

They were both glaring competitively at one another and I finally felt the need to interject. "You two had better not go all out or you'll destroy the whole arena." They both gave me a pouting look and I laughed at how oddly synchronized they were with each other.

The two of them nodded firmly. "It's settled, then?" Sora confirmed.

"Naturally. If Riku joins we'll tag team and bring him down first."

I gave them a pointed look and they dodged off in opposite directions. I guess they figured I couldn't hit both of them if they split up. Sora darted up the alley while Roxas snatched his board up and started skating down the nearby ramp, taking the papers with him. That's why it's best in these sorts of situations to act like I totally don't care at all. Can't beat apathy.

Roxas braced himself to a stop at the bottom of the ramp and called back up to us. "Yo! I'll meet you two at the clubhouse later."

"Count on it!" Sora looped back over to my side, waving down to him.

Roxas zoomed off on his mission, leaving the two of us alone. Finally free from this stupid errand.

"Did you want to just head there now?" He asked me, and I just nodded.

As we started making our way towards the clubhouse, Sora jumped up on the wall next to me, balancing as he walked with his arms out to the sides. We walked relatively silently, but it was one of those nice times where the quiet felt just as wholesome as conversation. He contentedly was teetering along while I followed just behind him. At the corner of the street he grabbed the street pole and spun around it with a laugh. Even after spending nearly all day on that tedious job he is still exuding energy. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and glanced over at the sun. Still plenty of afternoon light, it's not yet close to twilight.

That was one of the more strange things to get used to after Sora opened that door. All the worlds came back together and it was like they had all woken up at the same time, remembering everything they had forgotten. Time now flowed evenly across them all, and there were no borders to cross, no walls to traverse. Of course, here was still called Twilight Town despite it not being locked eternally in that hour any longer.

What interested me, though, was considering how this would affect the share of ideas and technology. Despite being connected physically, there was still a distinctive gap between the cultures of each former world. Like our islands, some were trying to open up and encourage tourism. A few others were a bit more isolated and while everyone there was aware of more beyond their horizons, their citizens had no desire to explore. I'm not really sure what I want to do, personally. I can't imagine being content just sitting around on the islands all day. But at the same time, it is nice to have a place to call home. The only thing I know for sure is that we will follow each other anywhere. Or so I hoped...

I checked up at Sora who was now attempting to walk backwards on the cobblestone half wall like a dork.

"Whoa!" Predictably, his foot slipped over the edge and he almost tumbled right over the edge. Arms flailing, he grabbed onto my shoulder in split second panic to steady himself. I paused in my walk, letting him use me as a ballast.

"Just a sec." He kicked off the wall and leapfrogged down with a laugh, landing just in front of me. He turned to look back over his shoulder, clearly proud of himself for that one.

I chastised him with a curt head shake. "You're welcome for again salvaging it for you."

He laughed. "Hmm…? And maybe you could remind me who it was that nearly flubbed it with Xion back there? Come to think of it I bail you out of stuff with girls all the time."

While that was true, I didn't like to admit it. I can't help it that the stuff I want to say doesn't always come across correctly. Everyone always seems to have this impression I am some eternally suave master of words but honestly I can get tongue tied just as much as the next guy. That's why it's always better to think before speaking, unlike _some_ people. At least as far as I know he never found out about that awful interaction I had when I first met Namine, when practically the first thing I told her was that she smelled good. Ugh, I still cringe at that one. Thankfully she's not much of a gossip.

"I guess you can always just fall back on staring into the distance in silence like you're _so mysterious_." He teasingly waved his hands in front of my face. "Then you don't have to say anything and ruin the illusion."

Yeah. Exactly. "At least I can pull that off. Let's see you try."

He jumped into a comical pose like he was trying to be a superhero with his hand on his chest, the other on his hip. He looked ridiculous, and a woman passing by started ogling him in confusion. I couldn't help but laugh. He quickly cracked as well, rubbing under his nose with a grin. "Guess I need a few pointers."

"It's just how I am, I don't think it's something I can teach. Besides, what girls am I even trying to impress?"

"I dunno. I always thought you and Xion seemed kinda nice together. Until you blew it today."

Xion, huh? I can't tell if he actually thought we would make a good pair or if he just dropped the name to tease me about what happened earlier. "So what, are you a girl expert now?"

"I didn't say that, I just don't get all choked up around them like you do."

He was right, that he isn't completely helpless with girls, to some extent. With the exception of when he has to deal with Kairi he's generally pretty unaffected by a pretty face. But he never follows through with anything more serious, either because he is too dense or lacks any desire to. Probably because he just treats everyone like they are a potential friend, girl or not, and doesn't really look beyond that. Maybe.

"And what about Kairi?"

"She's...different." He fidgeted with his sleeve.

Uh-huh. Now that I looked for it, I could pinpoint the exact face Roxas had been telling people about. That little eye sparkle of his was fairly distinctive. I felt that dark nagging sense of guilt digging at my gut again, forcing its way up my throat. I swallowed it back.

"In my defense I say it's because I've gotten too used to dealing with a simple guy like you all the time so it's rubbing off."

He narrowed his eyes. "You wanna say that again?"

"Face it, Sora. Take any average girl and I'd bet you'd struggle to be half as complex."

"Half!? No way!" He crossed his arms. "I bet you can't guess what I'm thinking about now."

"I bet I can."

He was giving me the smuggest look in the world, like he had dreamed up something so bizarre that he knew I would never be able to guess it. Oh he is _so_ sure that he's going to win this. But I've got a trump card.

"You are thinking that Kairi looks _really_ attractive in that little purple flower swimsuit of hers."

"N-No! I..." His face reddened.

"Care to deny that one more time?"

He spluttered helplessly. "T-that's not fair! Of course that's what I'm thinking about now! You cheated..."

"Fine, you were probably thinking about how I'm an annoying jerk."

Sora burst out laughing. "That's true, you are! But..."

I stumbled, taken aback by his sudden movement. "Uh, Sora...why are you...?"

He had one arm wrapped around behind my neck over my shoulder, hugging me sideways. "The truth is, I was _actually_ thinking that I'm glad you're finally laughing again."

He did still surprise me sometimes, that's for sure. I didn't particularly dislike hugs, they just made me feel a little awkward. At least I know he's sincere about it, and that's really what counts after all.

"See?" He prodded me jovially in the chest. "Maybe I'm more complex than you thought!"

"Nope." That was still a very typical Sora thing to think; doesn't count. I extracted myself out from under his arm as he gave me a frustrated pout. "But I like you the way you are."

That got a good smile out of him.

* * *

We reached the path to the woods soon after and started making our way up the worn grass pathway towards the mansion, no longer abandoned after our hours of hard work fixing it up to be our clubhouse and meeting spot. Sora insisted on naming it "The Mysterious Secret Mansion Clubhouse of Fun and Justice" but the problems with that name were...obvious. We just shortened it to Clubhouse after none of us could settle on a name everyone else was happy with. It wasn't our only group base; obviously the former castle oblivion was used for more serious matters, and was maintained by Aqua and Terra for the most part. This place was something else. It was a place for all of us to escape, and a bit more centrally located for everyone to reach than the islands. Nearly every square inch was made into our own.

Sora bounded through the gate, leaving it swinging behind him as he charged up the entryway path to the front door. He violently opened this as well, checking to see if anyone else was here, but the empty entryway was all that greeted him.

I dropped myself down onto the comfiest chair while Sora took a glance into the nearest glass case that now had an assortment of hair clips displayed in a neat line.

He leaned a bit too far forward towards the glass and hastily used the corner of his shirt to rub away his finger smudge. "So...what do you wanna do now?"

"Whatever." I rubbed my eyes, feeling glad to finally relax.

Sora scooped up one of his small bean bags that he keeps leaving lying around everywhere and started tossing it back and forth between his hands, then kicking it off his shoes back into his hands.

"Are you still attempting that juggling thing?" I asked the obvious, but mostly it's just because I never fully understood why he is even bothering with it.

"I think I almost got it! See?" He grabbed three of the bags in total and, with extreme concentration, started passing them between his hands, launching each one high into the air in a circle. He was actually able to maintain the rhythm this time, but his balance still needed work, as he kept sidestepping all over to stay under the center throwing arc.

"Not bad, but I still don't think Selphie is going to let you juggle at the festival."

"Why not? I've been working really hard on it!"

"Because just juggling three of those isn't too impressive—if you had _more_..."I scooped another bag off the ground and waved it at him. "Here, catch."

He laughed nervously. "W-wait a minute..."

I lobbed it at him and he struggled to work it into his routine but one fumble and it all fell apart. One after the other the balls scattered around his feet.

He shrugged and laughed, throwing himself onto the couch. "Oh well. I'll get it eventually."

Flipping over onto his back he reached up with one hand and squinted at the ceiling, tracing his fingertip along the various lines above him, likely getting a peek through the skylight we fixed up there as well. Something cheerful must have been running through his head because he kept smiling to himself now and again. Seeing him happy just felt like the natural state of the way things should be.

...And once more I felt those sickening pangs of guilt. I kept trying to push it to the back of my mind but I couldn't forget that that day. Two days wasn't enough to clear away the burning inside. It still stung, like bile at the back of my throat.

I know I left the classroom on Wednesday because I wanted to give them space. I removed myself because I know when they are alone they can really be honest with each other. I was starting to give up hope that he would make a move. But, like always, he manages to surprise me. Of course he tried to confess to her while she was sleeping, the coward.

Part of me wanted to interrupt because he seriously needs to just grow a spine and say it to her face. But I can tell myself that to the end of time and I still know in my heart that isn't the reason why I opened that door. I know the real reason. And that's why it hurts.

...unlike this pillow that was just thrown at my face.

Roxas was back, bearing a bag of some snacks. "Geez, Riku, you were totally out of it. Oh well, all the better for me to totally thrash you."

"What are you talking about?" I snatched a bottle of juice out of his hand.

"I helped you guys out today so now you get to do what I ask."

"Sure, what's that?" Sora agreed far too quickly. Like always.

"First, you two get changed into something more comfortable. You're spending the night. Second..." Roxas' eyes flashed as he lifted up another bag and tilted it open so we could see inside. Looked like video games.

"We're gonna fight...and I'm gonna win."

"Don't count on it!" Sora beamed, jumping up to his feet and running to the room to find a spare set of clothes we all kept in the shared dresser.

Roxas immediately raced towards the library and I sighed. I see the "No Sora or Roxas Unaccompanied Beyond This Point" sign with the very angry face that Pence taped to the door of the computer room was going to be completely useless again. At least it seemed like we were just using the portable system today so no harm should come to his precious baby. No computer abuse today, not on my watch. I don't want to get blamed for letting them in unsupervised.

But if he wants a fight night? Bring it on.

* * *

Sora was completely passed out on the couch, snoring peacefully on top of a half empty box of sugar cookies. Sugar crash, most likely.

"Sweet dreams, right?" Roxas snickered, laying another card down on the table. "My battle row is now power seven."

Says the one who can eat his own weight in ice cream. I shook my head disapprovingly at him and threw down my own card in response. "Power twelve. Puns really don't suit you."

"Ugh...I never should have agreed to this one. You know I have a weakness with card games."

I gloated. "Exactly. But I do admire your determination to beat me."

"Hey, I don't remember you being so cocky when we were playing Choco Racer earlier." He almost laid down a card, but quickly changed his mind, returned it to his deck and played another instead. "I use blizzard. That reduces my power...to six, but yours to five."

I flicked a cure card onto the table with relish. "All previous powers restored. I'm still winning with twelve."

"Ugh, I'm out." He flicked a finger grumpily at the edge of the table and dropped his cards to the desk in defeat.

Sora mumbled something and turned over, the hood of his sweatshirt flopping down over his face. I sighed and moved to stand up. "I should go drag his butt up to bed before he gets a cookie imprinted on his face."

"Hey, Riku...before that, do you have a minute?" Roxas kicked at the table leg, eyes cast downward.

I could tell this wasn't about a game. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Just, um...did you notice anything...weird on your island at all, lately?"

"...could you be more specific?"

"Darkness."

I tensed. "No. Is there something I should be concerned about?"

He shifted a bit. "Eh...yes and no. Xion told me the other day she was out shopping and saw…um..." He glanced over at Sora. "She saw...you know. _That guy._ "

Considering how many people who potentially had issues with us, that didn't really narrow the field down too well. His fingers clutched at the edge of the table, his hesitation only making me more concerned.

"Just spit it out, who was it?"

"...Vanitas."

"What?!" I shouted louder than I intended to and Sora stirred, nearly waking up for a moment. We watched silently as he shifted positions on the couch and grumbled back to sleep.

Roxas lowered his voice and tried to explain. "It was him, but he wasn't doing anything. That's what she thought was so weird. He was just hanging around near an alley, probably people watching. She said she was going to feed some of the stray cats that hang out around there and she almost stumbled right into him. He didn't recognize her at first, I guess because she keeps changing her style all the time. Once he did, though, he just insulted her and immediately ran off."

"That's suspicious as hell."

"Yeah, but...she said he seemed a bit embarrassed, if that's even possible. Anyway, after she told me I went over to visit Ven and the others to ask about it. They said he _has_ been acting unusual lately but in all good ways. He's been trying to actually cooperate a bit more with them and asking a lot of questions about us."

"That still sounds suspicious." I jabbed my finger into the table. "I don't trust that guy. I don't like that guy. I don't ever want to see him again if possible. Just thinking about him makes me angry."

"Yeah, I know...I just thought I should tell you. I mean maybe he really has decided to change for the better. But if he hasn't..."

"I got it. Thanks for the heads up. As far as I know he hasn't come to the islands but he might just be avoiding me on purpose."

"Sorry, I wasn't sure how to bring it up since I didn't want to worry you guys."

"I'd rather be worried than blindsided by that...that..." I couldn't pinpoint the most choice word to describe him. I had quite a few contenders, though.

"I know, I know. But it might be nothing!" Roxas hastily tried to calm me down.

I raised my hand, letting him know I was still in control of things. I'm not just going to boil over in rage hearing about him; I have a little bit more sense than that. "With him it's never nothing. Let me know if you or anyone else sees him again."

"Will do! Anyway, I'll go get the futons out, you can take care of that." He gestured to the lump on the couch and slipped back upstairs to our shared bedroom. As soon as he disappeared, I strolled over and leaned close to Sora's sleeping ear, whispering into it.

"I'm going to eat the last cookie."

He grumbled and swatted out with a free arm that then lazily slumped back down to the ground after he missed. Huh, I guess talking to someone in their sleep did work wonders. I wonder how much random stuff he picked up from me during that whole year Namine was working on his memories. Probably nothing. I stared down at his sleeping face as he seemed to suddenly fall quiet and felt a wash of unease. It is an irrational concern I suppose, but after all that's happened...sometimes when he's sleeping and stops making obvious noise I feel the need to poke at him a little, just to make sure he's okay and he'll be able to open his eyes again.

I reached down and shook Sora's shoulder as gently as possible. "Hey, wake up. Or do I have to carry you?"

Sora mumbled and tried turning over but I quickly pulled the box out from under him. He sniffed in surprise as his head fell a few centimeters to the couch cushion below. Yeah, he's fine, just lazy. Groaning, he sat up and blinked out into the room.

"Wha-ere's...Roxas…?" He yawned deeply, his head slowly nodding as he once more fought against sleep itself.

"Upstairs."

He lifted himself up into the air, teetered, and started to plummet face first towards the ground. I caught him as gently as possible and he slumped into my chest, happily muttering away. Of course. I'm a pillow again.

"Riku...where's your...robot? You said it was gonna make me...pancakes..."

Riiight… "That's upstairs, too. Can you make it?"

He drowsily nodded and shuffled next to me as we made our way up to the beds. I stopped to shut off the lights on the way out and tried to keep him as stable as possible so he didn't kill himself on the stairs. He yawned again, more deeply this time and sighed, sagging into me again. He had such a calm smile on his face.

"Riku...thanks...not letting...monkey...eat my shoe..."

"Yeah..." I sighed. "I promised I'd be there for you. I guess that includes your shoes."

"...yaay..." He cheered sleepily, stumbling over the last stair.

Roxas, in the process of lying out the beds had somehow managed to fall on the pile of blankets and had already drifted asleep, snuggled up in one. Seriously, even when working together I wonder how these two get things accomplished sometimes. At least he seems comfortable there.

I lowered Sora down onto one of the large futons on the ground and turned to grab a pillow but he yanked on my arm, refusing to drop it. He had a surprising amount of strength left in him despite basically being in a dead sleep. Guess he's claimed that arm for tonight.

I let him pull me down to the bed and tried to get comfortable myself without the use of my right arm since Sora was still clinging to it. He always did get way more affectionate when he's tired. Been that way as long as I can remember, so I've long since stopped fighting it. Even if I shove him off I'll just wake up to him stuck on me somewhere. As frustrating as he is sometimes, part of me always feels glad he still does it. Through everything I've done to him he's never once not forgiven me. If an arm is all it takes now and again to keep him happy, it's not even questionable.

I shifted around a bit and found a comfortable position. Roxas stirred and slid down to the floor, feeling around for the other futon before sleepily pulling himself onto it, dragging the blanket with him. In the silence, those thoughts of mine started to return. I'm not sure how much longer I can ignore it. Every time I try to swallow it down, it just claws its way back up. Undying, unyielding. My best friend laughed quietly at something in his dreams and I turned my head away in shame. Of all the things, why did _this_ have to happen?

I'm so sorry, Sora…


	4. Kairi: Boy stuff

I can always tell when Riku is upset about something when instead of offering up a snappy retort, he falls dead silent. And the more I saw him stare at those fliers, the more quiet he became.

"Look at him, he's so thrilled he's speechless!" Selphie boasted with overt mocking sarcasm, dumping a huge box of the papers at his feet.

Sora's eyes met mine and I could tell he was struggling not to crack at the sight of Riku's glamor shot adoring the cover of the festival pamphlets. Poor Riku. He was the literal poster boy for the ultimate elusive dark, mysterious stranger that was the subject of many teenage girl crushes, and it certainly made for a stellar advertising campaign. I do feel a little guilty at how we basically had to trick him the whole time into not only getting a picture in the first place, but misleading him about its purpose. But it was too perfect. Embarrassing for him, but perfect.

Selphie told me she's run off dozens of extra copies of that picture and is racking up a lot of owed favors on the side haggling them off. She declares proudly that its for the good of the festival, but I think she just enjoys playing love doctor.

She nudged the box she had just set down with her foot again, drawing attention towards it. "See all these? You two are going to head to Twilight Town today and hand them out. Every. Last. One. No coming back until not only this box is empty, but..." She selected another box from the table behind her and shoved it into Sora's arms much to his chagrin, scattering the juggling balls he had been clutching to the floor. "...this one, too!"

It wasn't the nicest thing to do to these two, but it would certainly keep them occupied and prevent Riku from skulking around the whole audition trying to pick up on clues about what we were up to. Besides, I'm sure Sora will have some fun with it, and hopefully run into a few of his friends in the process.

Riku surprisingly didn't even argue. I think he was just expending far too much effort in trying to look like he didn't care that he couldn't spare any energy elsewhere. Sora kept glancing down at the juggling balls at his feet, trying to kick them back together into an organized pile.

"But don't you think we could just do this anoth-"

Selphie immediately cut him off, her voice terse and unrelenting. "You'll do it now or I'll make sure every single one of those juggling balls I find ends up at the bottom of the ocean."

I wilted a bit at the sight of his betrayed face. "That's a little extreme, isn't it?" I scooped his lost juggling aids up for him and set them down gently on the table. "If you wouldn't mind, it really would help us out a lot. And don't worry, I'll make sure you get these back."

Pleased by my answer, he cheerily bumped his shoulder into Riku, who was still staring wordlessly down into the box of papers below him. "I'll be a bit sad to miss out on the audition but I suppose passing these out won't be too bad. Maybe we can even get Roxas to help out!"

Selphie bent down to lift Riku's box back up and shoved it unceremoniously into his arms. "Lovely. Now get out!" She pushed against the boxes, forcing my two friends into the hall, and slammed the music door shut.

I heard a muffled "good luck" coming cheerily from the other side and the sounds of one set of very grumpy feet stomping away. The other set of feet hastily pattering along behind. It wasn't too difficult to figure out who was who, even behind a door.

Selphie did a flourishing about-face, returning her attention to the musicians behind her. "Right! Let's get these auditions started! To be clear, all of you are in, we just need to figure out who gets assigned to what instrument, since we need to achieve a very specific sound."

Pretty much everyone looked baffled by this announcement. I would be too. The only exception was Edward, who always ran around proudly declaring himself the "Spoony Bard" and I think plays every single instrument imaginable to some extent, including, of course, spoons. Today he was holding onto his mandolin.

A boy I wasn't too familiar with in the grade below me tentatively raised his arm. "So...what if we only play one instrument?"

Selphie just shrugged. "Oh come on, live a little! Experiment! Trust me, the music isn't really a _song_ it's more of a...thematic accompaniment for Kairi's role in the festival. Now, this is all top secret stuff so once we tell you, on pain of _death_ none of you can say a word about it outside this room, got it?" Hesitant mumbling swept all around the room. "If you don't think you can handle it, bow out now. Doors there."

She pointed firmly to the exit. I saw a few people whinging, but eventually they settled back down into their chairs. Turning to me, she gave me a nod. "Alright then, Kairi. If you would kindly explain?"

I cleared my throat and began. "Well, I'm sure many of you are aware of the origins of our festival...

* * *

I tapped my cheeks, trying to stay awake as much as possible. Come on pull it together, you can do this! All of these people are working hard too so I can't just give up on them.

"Hey...you okay?" A soft hand rubbed at my shoulder. I looked up to see Selphie biting at her lip.

I did my best to cheerily smile back. "Y-yes! It's just been a long week."

She sighed and tried to read my face. "I think you've had enough for today."

"But the rehearsal is-"

"-going fine! Trust me, I have a strong artistic vision! Power girl time! I've also got Irvine to run any errands for me if they come up." She gave me a wink.

I still felt guilty and I shook my head. "No, I'll be fine. I'll just go take a minute to get freshened up, okay?"

She puffed her cheeks out and sighed. "Stop being so stubborn! If I run you ragged I'll never hear the end of it when the boys get back. _If_ they get back."

I smiled a little when I remembered earlier this afternoon.

"It's okay, Kairi! We appreciate your input but we'll probably just be running the basics for a while so you should go take it easy." I saw Edward cheerily calling over from behind his mandolin. While Edward was sometimes a frustrating flirt like Irvine, he did have a good point.

I sighed and gave an apologetic wave to the musicians still up on the small raised stage platform of the band room. "I'm sorry, I'll just take a short break and come back when I can!"

Selphie nodded insistently at me and I rose from my chair, heading towards the small garden by the edge of the stairs just outside of the band room. I figured if anything I could just sit on the stairs, smell some flowers and relax a bit to get my head together.

Even though it was Friday this whole weekend was likely to be busy as well. We actually had a half day at school this Saturday to make up for the time lost during this week for festival preparations, how utterly unfair, and just about every single school club scheduled a meeting afterwards because we weren't allowed to meet during the week until the festival ends. At least I can hopefully de-stress a bit by whacking some tennis balls into submission. I stretched upwards to the sky, now already falling deep into twilight. I took a seat on the steps noting the speed of the clouds rolling through. Hopefully there isn't a storm coming.

I wonder if Sora and Riku were done yet? There was something that was still nagging at me from the other day. Both of them were acting so strangely; Sora was avoiding my eyes all the time like he's upset about something, and Riku is way more quiet and serious than normal even when he's not gawking at photos of himself. What could be going on in their heads? I folded my knees up and stuffed my chin on them in frustration. It must have something to do with our schedules getting so chaotic lately. Or maybe...

When I think about it, it was about two days ago, on Wednesday. That's just about when it started getting more noticeable. I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something about that day. Maybe Sora said something important to me before I fell asleep and now I can't remember? Could that be why he is upset? No...that doesn't seem like him...

Maybe...it was that little cheeky kiss? I bet Riku has been giving him non-stop grief about it. I should apologize. But I don't really want to apologize! It definitely felt like the right thing to do at the time. Besides! I did it a few times when we were kids! It shouldn't really be a bit deal...but...

No...there was definitely something different about it. Being so close and feeling the warmth of his face...I couldn't breathe. It was never like that before. Maybe because it's something I know deep down I shouldn't be doing. We aren't little kids anymore, and things like that have certain...implications now. I shouldn't give him the wrong idea.

It... _is_ the wrong idea...right? I felt the thump of my heart growing louder in my ears and I took a deep gulp of fresh air, calming myself. What was I getting so worked up over? It must be that dream. I wish I could remember it...it's just so frustrating! I know it had something to do with Sora and it _felt..._ important.

I paused, and sighed deeply into my knees. Still, I suppose if he is mad over what I did, I should just apologize and try to make amends, no matter how confused I feel about it. I wonder how that conversation would even go. Do I just walk up and say something awkward like 'hey Sora, if kissing is off limits for us, that's okay!'? Because that feels...insincere. I wish he would just tell me what-

"Um...hey, Kairi? C-can I ask you about something sorta...personal? Is that...problematic for you?"

I opened my eyes to see a girl I recognized from flower arranging club. She always sat in the back, made every arrangement with at least one iris. She was very quiet, a little clumsy and soft spoken, but always tried to do her best.

"Oh, Ophelia! It's alright, I was just thinking about nonsense. What's wrong?"

She was fiddling with her book bag and she definitely looked agitated, almost like she was now reconsidering.

I tried reassuring her. "Please, it's okay, you aren't bothering me."

She dug the toe of her shoe into the step. "W-well...it's...about a b-boy..."

I had a vague idea where this was going and I stood up. She must be yet another girl interested in Riku, or at least wanted to barter for his picture. "I understand. Did you want advice about what he likes?"

She blushed furiously. "See...I...thought I would buy him something b-but I just can't decide what will stand out. I bet tons of other girls are chasing him, so..."

Best not to discourage her. "What were you considering?"

"I thought...maybe he would like sweets and...oh who am I kidding? There's no way he would choose me over the others!"

I put my hands over her trembling ones to calm them. Certainly if Riku decided to date anyone he would at least hint something to me. Or Sora, I suppose. And there's no way that goofball could keep something like that a secret.

"Don't worry about that. I won't lie and say the odds are fantastic but as far as I know he hasn't chosen anyone yet. And I would know!"

"Th-thank you. If I am this nervous talking with you I don't know how I'll ever approach him."

Riku did often have an...intimidating aura about him sometimes in the past, but he really has mellowed out quite a bit. At least he has stopped trying to pretend to be someone he's not. He's remarkably clever, takes things seriously, and he's a little bit jealous at times, but ultimately a very humble person who wants to help those close to him. He's matured quite well. "I know he might seem a bit scary but he's really-"

"He's not scary at all! He's sweet and cares so much about other people."

Hmm, that's surprising. Most people didn't notice that about Riku at first. They just assumed he was exclusively serious or anti-social all the time. That, or they were only interested in his looks. It's nice that she's trying to see past that tough exterior shell he puts up sometimes.

Ophelia continued, excited. "I love that he's always so optimistic and happy! He always makes me laugh."

...Optimistic? "W-wait, I'm confused. We are talking about Riku, right?"

She furrowed her brow, utterly bewildered. "N-no, I was talking about Sora."

Something strange twinged in my stomach and my hands froze. "Wh...S-Sora?"

She sighed, fiddling with her braids. "There is just something about him. His spirit. It just _glows_. I really want to impress him and see him smile for me. And I thought...maybe...since you know him the b-best..."

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Why was I getting so agitated about this? I do this all the time with Riku. I opened my mouth to try and speak but it felt like my voice just tumbled down some stairs and twisted itself up into knots.

"S-Sora is...he's n-not-"

I caught myself. Why was I trying to discourage her? That's a horrible thing for me to do. She seems very earnest and wants to make Sora happy. Doesn't he deserve a girl like that? It's a far cry from so many of the ones who seek Riku out. I should...I should be glad...

My blood ran cold, but I pressed on. "Sorry, for the misunderstanding. L-listen, Ophelia. Sora does have quite a sweet tooth. And...I'm sure he will appreciate a gift like that. But that isn't really the way to win him over. To be honest I don't think the gift matters."

She looked confused.

"He appreciates it most when he sees people following their heart. Any gift that expresses yourself, even if its not something he might personally enjoy, matters a lot to him. Because it would remind him of you."

"So...I should try to get him something he dislikes?"

"Not on purpose!" I retracted hastily. It was clear she could use an example. "Let me tell you a story. Back when I was seven, I wanted to try making my own chocolate valentines. I wanted to make it extra special. Someone told me that dark chocolate was "fancy" chocolate so I decided to make some to gift to Sora and Riku at school."

"I don't understand...are you saying I should make him chocolate?"

I shook my head. "Well, the thing is: Sora _hates_ dark chocolate. Absolutely can't stand it. Riku doesn't mind it though, despite not being a big fan of chocolate in general. But you know what? I never found out until two years later when Riku decided to rat him out. He told me that all those years ago, Sora was nearly dying on the floor forcing himself to choke it all down because he didn't want to waste it!" I giggled at the thought of it. The sweetheart always tries so hard...

"And he didn't tell you he hated it?"

"Never said a word. I think because he knew about the effort I put in, he wanted to appreciate it fully, even if it made him feel sick. He's like that with almost everything."

"Really?" Ophelia's eyes widened just like Sora's do when he gets excited about something and I smiled. Maybe these two really would make an interesting pair...

"Mm. So I would suggest thinking about something that is special to you, like a hobby or craft and making him something that way. Or you can always just recommend something important to you, like a song, or a piece of art..."

She tipped her head side to side. "I'll really have to do some thinking, then." She then reached out and grabbed my hands, shaking them happily. "Thank you so much, I'll go home right away to start! I feel so giddy I could almost fly!"

Her eyes sparkled with an eager hope that made my stomach knot up again. I could only wave her off as she skipped down the stairs towards the bike racks. As soon as she disappeared from view I felt my legs buckle and I dropped down to the top step. The heaviness in my throat clenched tighter. My breath quickened and I grabbed at my chest. It hurts. Why does it hurt?

I must be getting over stressed from all this work. Selphie is right, I am taking on too much right now. I should just get my bag and excuse myself back home. If I'm not myself I won't be very productive anyway. I smacked at my cheeks again, trying to snap myself out of it. Big breaths. Okay. Calm…

Once I felt I was steady enough I slowly made my way back to the band door. I could hear them practicing inside, running the same few bars over and over, changing instruments each time. Cowardly, I shuffled open through the door and tried to tiptoe over to my bag as quietly as possible. Selphie noticed. How could she not? The room is only big enough for ten people.

"Oh, there you are, I was about to—Kairi? Kairi what's wrong?"

I tried to wave her away. "N-nothing, it's nothing. I just think I need more rest than I realized..."

"No kidding...you look awful!"

The music at this point had ground to a halt and everyone was staring at me. I brushed at my hair, tucking it and untucking it from behind my ear. "I-its that bad?"

She nodded sternly and waved over to Irvine. "Hey, be a dear and take over for me. We are gonna have a girl chat."

I backed away from her. "Selphie, I've distracted everyone enough. I can't also take you-"

"No, take her, please!" Someone in the band shouted out, pleadingly.

Selphie glared back at them over her shoulder. "When I get back we are going to be working double!"

Before I could protest against this, Selphie scooped up my bag, clutched my wrist and yanked me towards the door. Irvine gave a solemn wave at my departure. "Take care, little lady. Get some rest. No one wants you to overwork yourself."

Murmurs of agreement followed and I just managed to shoot a goodbye and another apology before I was spirited out into the hall. She continued pulling me until we made it around the corner where she finally stopped and braced her hands on my shoulders.

"Okay. So spit it out. What happened out here? Someone give you trouble?"

My head felt heavy. "I...no. It was just Ophelia. She wanted to talk to me."

"...about?"

"She just wanted some boy advice, that's all! Then I started feeling sick and...it must be stress."

"Hmm...boy advice? You mean about Riku again?" Selphie rubbed her hands together. "By any chance did she want a photo?"

"N-no..." I stared at my shoes, feeling that tightness in my throat coming back. "I-it was...she wanted help with Sora."

Selphie blinked up at me in shock. "Wait, hold on, are you serious?!" She stared at me intently, but I could barely see with all the water swimming in my eyes. I just wanted to go home, curl up and hug one of my stuffed animals. I nodded.

"She asked for dating advice for...Sora? Our Sora? And that's made you..."

Come on, Selphie, how many boys do we know by that name? I gave her an impatient frown.

"Wait whoa...Kairi, that's...unexpected, really. Well, maybe not _that_ unexpected, but not what I had assumed..."

Why was she smiling?

"I didn't expect it at all. I think maybe that's why I'm just suddenly feeling so stressed. One more extra unexpected thing and it was too much to handle. That must be it, right?"

She crossed her arms. "Maybe."

What else could it be…? I felt my whole body starting to shake and the tears just started to spill out over my hands. "I'm sorry...I don't..."

Selphie snuggled me into a hug, patting my back. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You've had a lot of stuff to take in this week, that's for sure."

I could only nod and try to stem the tears back. She gripped onto my shoulders again, staring determined into my face.

"Right! Well, if it's come to this, you can definitely count on me. I'll think of something that will help you out. You just get home and relax. Have a good cry, take a bath, whatever. I know you, you'll pull through this."

I closed my eyes a moment, steadying myself. When I opened them again, I felt like I could finally smile back at her. "Thank you. All of those ideas sound wonderful. I'm sorry again for the trouble."

Selphie released me from her hug and rolled her eyes at me. "Seriously? I live for this sort of stuff!"

"What do you mean?"

She waved her hand around hastily. "A-Ah, you know, planning! Organizing! Taking care of my people!" She mumbled something under her breath that I couldn't quite hear and clapped her hands together in determination.

I gathered up my bag and slung it over my shoulder, smiling brightly at her. "You're right. I'll make sure to come back nice and refreshed for practice tomorrow!"

She shooed me away with her hands. I still couldn't help but notice that she had such an excited face, like someone had just fed her a whole weeks worth of gossip at once. What is she planning?

I trudged down the stairs, letting my bag droop until I was kicking it slightly with each step. The tears had stopped and I was feeling much less choked, but something inside still tugged at me with merciless abandon. Miserable. Just miserable. Luckily it wouldn't be long before I could go change into something fuzzy and dive into bed. Or maybe a hot bath would be nice tonight. Mhm, that settles things. I'm going to eat something absolutely delicious in the bath and no one is going to stop me!

I felt the skip in my step coming back a little as I made my turn into the dirt path towards my house. I wonder if Sora and Riku have gotten back from Twilight Town yet? Knowing them they probably decided to stay overnight at the..."The Mysterious Secret Mansion Clubhouse of Fun and Justice". I smiled.

The sky had long since grown dark, stars dotting the cool crisp air above me. It's too bad I wasn't at Twilight Town now with them. It would be a perfect time to use Ven's telescope and chart more of the stars for Riku's big map project.

I felt a brush of chill in the night air that gave me a moment of pause. Something unusual had definitely been picked up by my subconscious. But what was it? I took a cautionary look around to see what was amiss. In the distance I thought I could see a figure standing near a large bougainvillea bush. That's strange. I would imagine the only person examining the flowers this late at night would be that sweetheart Margaret, but I didn't see her walker or cane nearby. The figure must have noticed me coming by now, but they made no indication to acknowledge me, or even themselves. Almost like they were waiting for me to draw closer.

One foot at a time, I approached. Through the darkness I slowly was able to pick out more and more details of this person. I noticed a silhouette of hair spiked in that very distinctive way…that dork! Was he trying to sneak up and scare me on my way home? I felt warm relief rush over me as I readjusted my bag over my arm and hurried over to greet him.

"Did you honestly think you could sneak up on m-"

An icy chill gripped my body and I froze. That wasn't Sora. That wasn't Sora at all.

"Ooh, what a face. Mistake me for someone else?" He sneered over at me as he leaned up against a nearby sign post.

Vanitas. Why here? Why now? I steeled myself, pulling my bag down and gripping it tightly with my left hand just in case I needed to get a weapon ready.

"What are you doing here. Where's Ven?" I demanded more than asked. It was a bit frightening to see him out on his own. Ven could put him under that magic seal to keep his powers locked up, but I had no idea if that would even work long distance.

He shrugged. "Why so aggressive? Hate me so much you can't even stand it when I visit?"

"I never said that." I shivered as he turned his eyes to stare directly into mine. The urge to look away gripped me, but I knew I couldn't risk taking my eyes off him, especially not while I was alone like this.

"You see, I've got this problem I was hoping you could help me with." His words seemed sincere, but his face was twisted to the side with half a sneer.

"I'm sorry but I can't believe that."

"Ouch, so cold, and yet so fiery. Would it help if I made big eyes and talked like a certain Mr. cheery cheery sunshiiiine."

"You aren't Sora." I clenched my fingers tighter around the handle of my bag. Despite having almost the same face and the exact same voice, there was definitely no mistaking the two.

"And proud of it. He's a loser."

I glared at him sternly, turned my nose up and started marching away from him, down the road to my house.

"Tch. What, you in denial about the truth?"

I kept my eyes focused in front of me. "The only one in denial is you. Feel free to stand there and think you look cool mocking my friends. But I don't have to listen."

I heard him shift positions and he grabbed for my arm. Before he could touch me I spun and pointed my Keyblade at his face, forcing him away. "Don't."

He chuckled darkly, lifting his hands in mock surrender and I shivered in revulsion. I hated seeing Sora's face twisted into such hateful expressions.

"Hey, I've been waiting quite a while for you today. Won't you at least listen to me this time?"

"This time…? Have you been following me!?"

He shrugged noncommittally and sneered again. "Does it matter?"

At least he wasn't approaching any closer.

"It does if you want to actually get in my good graces. But fine, I'll listen for just a bit longer on one condition: one more insult to my friends and I'm gone."

He paused, his eyes tracing along the length of my Keyblade. He gestured down to it with one of his fingers, hands still raised. "Could you put that away first?"

I didn't feel particularly like I trusted him, but there was something a bit different about him this time. I put away my weapon, but refused to drop my guard.

He just stood there, smiling at me with that cruel look in his eyes.

I waited, but he still said nothing. "...well?"

"Heh...have you always been so feisty? Or is it just with me?"

I refused to answer, just meeting him with silence.

He sighed. "A princess of heart. Surely she must know something about emotions and feelings?"

Where was he going with this?

He continued, leaning closer towards me. "Lots of them. All the good ones, I imagine: hope, happiness...love?" His eyes drifted downwards. "...and maybe even forgiveness."

I felt the grip on my bag loosen slightly. "Are you...saying you want forgiveness? From me?"

"Would you, if I asked for it?" He glanced at me again with those sharp eyes of his.

I felt my guard dissipating rapidly. Was he actually asking for me to forgive him? I honestly couldn't tell if he was being sincere or not. His face, though, for once wasn't marred by that typical aloofness of his. Perhaps there really was something to this. If he honestly wanted to change there was no way he was going to ever be direct about it.

"In the past, Riku ended up doing a lot of bad things he regretted. He sought out forgiveness and found it. The hardest part for him was not asking it from us, but earning it for himself. I don't see why you couldn't do the same. If you were really willing to make amends with things, I would forgive you. But there are a lot of important people to me that you hurt; people I am connected to. Until we all feel that you have been truly repentant and put the work in to-"

"Psh. As if I would care about something as stupid as whatever your friends think." He spat at the ground. "I'd never beg for forgiveness like Riku. Like some kind of dog. That's all he is."

"You still clearly have a lot to learn, then. If you do actually want to change, I'll listen and help you. But until then, goodbye." I spun on my heel and abruptly walked off, refusing to entertain any more of this.

To my surprise, he didn't seem to be following me. Once I got far enough away I glanced back over my shoulder but I only saw the empty path behind me, bathed in the starlight. I dashed home as fast as I could, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind me, collapsing against it, . Why why why is he _here_. What was that even about!? So much for a relaxing, no stress evening.

I could hear my parents chatting indistinctly from the kitchen and hesitantly called out a greeting to them. My panic was still palatable, blood rushing through my ears. I realized far too late that I probably shouldn't have run directly to my house. Now he might know where I live. I took a few steadying breaths and turned away from the door, quickly casting a defensive spell on the lock to keep it sealed. Just in case he followed me and had any ideas about trying to get in here. I'm so glad Aqua taught me that one.

My father peeked his head out into the front hall, probably wondering why taking my shoes off was taking so long. I gave him a quick hug and went upstairs to get changed, uttering a rather unbelievable excuse that I was fine, I just had a long day. I doubt my mother believed that for a second.

I changed quickly into a light tank top and loose red skirt. It was nice to at least have something comfortable on. Dinner today was a simple goya dish and soup that my dad had thrown together. Obviously my mother was still incredibly busy with town hall work—she had way more on her plate than I did – having to not only be the mayor of our islands but organize its image in the overall world stage now. She gave me a quick hug then returned back to her pile of paperwork. From the looks of it she was going over all the old rule books and trying to retract or update everything to be more modern. She also had a whole stack of zoning code paperwork for festival matters at her other side.

Hopefully the work distracts her enough that I can eat and sneak away without being interrogated too much. I stood up to clean up my soup bowl when my mother flicked her eyes up off her work at me.

"Busy day, I assume?"

"Very." I smiled back.

"Anything the matter?"

I sighed and sat back down. "To be honest, it's boy stuff."

My father nearly spit out his drink. "Boys!? Who!?"

My mother hushed him and I quickly retracted things. "No, not like that! It's Sora and Riku."

"Oh." He cleared his throat and went back to his food while my mother hummed to herself thoughtfully.

"And what have those two done now?"

"Well...nothing, really. It just seems like there is a lot of tension right now because I'm so busy. That and Riku is so perceptive I keep having to watch everything I say just so nothing slips out about the festival."

"You could just tell him what you are doing, he's bound to find out eventually."

"It's supposed to be a surprise! It's not fair that I can never have surprises..." I love surprising people. At least there's always Sora to count on for that.

My mother laughed at my pouting. "He is a little too clever for his own good sometimes, isn't he?"

"Always liked that about him..." My dad mumbled into his dinner.

"It's not a bad quality but it's frustrating right now." I slumped my head over onto my hand propped up by the elbow.

"And what has little Sora been up to, then?" My mom questioned gently.

I paused. "Well...he..." I'm not entirely sure how I can even phrase this properly. I don't even know what I am trying to say. "For one thing he's been acting a little strangely. Avoiding me a little...and today I was asked about..." I paused there. It probably wasn't too important to bring that up, right? "Well, that doesn't matter. Anyway he's acting like he's almost scared of me. Or upset about something..."

My dad chuckled a little. "He's probably seen you chew Riku out about trying to sneak information out of you and is nervous you're going to turn on him so he's avoiding you. That's what I think."

"I wonder..." My mother sighed, tapping her pen against the table. "Any other boys giving you trouble? Or more of the usual."

"It's fine..." I briefly thought of bringing up Vanitas but there's really no reason to worry them about that.

My father sighed. "Ah, well...I suppose everything will sort itself out once the festival is over, then."

"I hope so."

My mother said nothing, still tapping her pen. "That, or your friends need to find themselves a girlfriend to occupy their time with. I take it Riku didn't fancy any of those girls who came to you for advice?"

I toyed with my food. "Not as far as I know..."

My dad tried to hide his smile and I sighed. I certainly don't think having to screen through all his potential dates was all that amusing.

"And what of Sora? I'm sure he gets some attention now and again."

My spoon slipped and rattled down onto the floor, spilling a little bit with it. I rushed to get up to clean it.

"Everything alright?" My mother stood to help me but I shooed her away and wiped it down as fast as possible.

"Yes. I've just had a long day. I-I'm going to go take a bath." I hurriedly ran my dishes under the water and snatched a small package of marshmallows from the pantry. "And I'm taking this with me!"

I left with my mother eyeing me suspiciously and my father staring in bewilderment. I really need to work on my poker face.

* * *

I sank into the water of my bath until the level stopped just under my nose. So relaxing...

After a moment sitting there like that with my eyes closed, I pulled myself back up and leaned against the corner of the tub. I reached my hand lazily into my bag of treats behind me and pulled out the last marshmallow, squishing it slightly between my thumb and finger. As strange as this day had ended up being, I was feeling much better now. I just let my mind drift back over fun memories of the past. I remember the last time the three of us had shared marshmallows together on that last minute camping trip. Sora decided to share with me all the wonders of how to make something he called "marshmallow taffy". It tasted amazing, but it got marshmallow _everywhere_. I'd try it again now but that sort of defeats the point of getting clean in the bath to then just cover myself with sticky sugar again. Or...maybe a bath is the best time, since it can just wash off right away.

I started playing with the little treat, squishing it around between my fingers first before stretching it back out. The best taffy was made through the sheer effort of repeating this process as long as possible. It took a lot of patience. Something Sora often didn't have a lot of. I remember our elementary school trip to the new butterfly hatchery. They said to sit still and let them land on you. Riku was practically being swarmed by them but Sora couldn't sit still enough for the butterflies to settle on him. I giggled. He was so jealous...

The taffy still wasn't at the right consistency, so I kept going, kept reminiscing. I remember when we had that movie night during the big thunderstorm and fell asleep together under that big green blanket. The blanket certainly wouldn't fit all three of us now, even if we cuddled as close as possible.

I thought about the two of them, knowing if they were at the clubhouse that Sora will undoubtedly be using Riku as a pillow again. He's always done that. Except for that one sleepover when we were six and he accidentally rolled over and stuck to me instead. I didn't mind, except maybe the fact that he was so warm it was like lying next to a space heater. My dad wasn't too happy though. I'm sure he would have run Sora out of the house if he hadn't been so cutely innocent, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, asking when pancakes were going to be ready.

Part of me really wanted to go surprise them tomorrow morning at the clubhouse. Then we could go down to the beach together and have fun like always. I just felt such a prolonged pang of loneliness that I wished more than anything I could just magic them here. Hmm...I suppose I would want to get out of the bath first, though.

I laughed, imagining their faces if they were to suddenly materialize right next to me while I'm sitting naked in the water. I think all three of us would die of embarrassment. I blushed and rapidly shook my head, knocking that thought into oblivion as fast as it had arrived. Time to finally eat this taffy.

After drying off and getting changed into my pajamas, I decided to shuffle through the craft room. When we were younger, this was where we played with our toys, many of which were still pilled around or stored in bins to the side. I prodded a few, remembering their distinctive place in time in my memories. I don't really know what I was looking for, I just felt like I wanted to revisit all these memories again. As I shifted through the contents of one of the larger bins, my hand brushed against one half of a small wooden ship.

I pulled it from the toy chest with a sigh. This one. I remember you.

Sora had just gotten this ship toy and was, well excited is a bit of an understatement with him. Obviously Riku was a little jealous and the two ended up fighting. It broke into pieces and I remember just being frozen, wondering what to do. I was so worried Sora would cry, he was always so sweet and sensitive even then. I rushed over to hug him but...he just started laughing. He said it was alright because then the two of them could play with it at the same time.

It was incredibly sweet of him, but I could tell Riku still felt so badly about it he refused to touch the toy again. Even worse was when Sora's dad came to pick him up and scolded us all for being careless. A few days later Riku came up to me saying he wanted to make a brand new boat from scratch but everything he tried to make just fell apart. Since he knew I liked crafts he asked for my help. We worked for weeks on that thing, especially because we could never do it when Sora was around. I even sewed some cute little dolls to go riding in it. When we finally gave it to him though...all that work was worth it. He was even more thrilled than before. Said it was his favorite thing in the world. I'm pretty sure he still keeps that ship displayed up in his room. It's so rudimentary, obviously made by children, but it means so much to all of us, in a way. Even when something is broken, we found a way to work together to try to make it whole again.

I felt a few tears leaking from my eyes again and I brushed them away quickly. As soon as those dummies get back I am going to hug them both silly. For now, Mr. Gull is going to have to do. I clutched the stuffed seagull close and took him with me back to my bedroom. I plopped down onto the bed and flipped over onto my back, staring at the light of the streetlamps outside that was cast up on the ceiling. The light swayed hypnotically as my curtains drifted back and forth from the breeze outside.

I closed my eyes and squeezed again, tightly, pushing my head against its fluffy seagull body. Another memory, brief but poignant flashed through my head—when he was finally safe on the islands again. Back then, I was so relieved that he had barely risen to his feet before I buried my face in his chest. Sora was so warm then, too. He always is. So supportive and gentle and I…

My eyes shot open. Why is my head throbbing again? Urgh! I kicked out with my legs in frustration but my feet just got tangled in my sheets. I don't like it when I can't be with them. I don't want to be alone.

Please come back soon.


	5. Sora: Unexpected request

Under the water everything feels like it goes in slow motion. I floated around the bubbles, pushing out at some with my fingers as they passed. That's so neat that they don't really pop, just split into more tiny ones. I swiped my hand through a mass of them and watched them go all crazy. It was so nice and refreshing under here I wanted to hang out here just a little longer. It almost made me want to pack everything up and go chill at Atlantica for a day or two. Maybe Riku will finally go with me. There's no way he's going to want to change forms though, he hates that. But he's totally missing out! Breathing under water is-

- _urk!_

I struggled a bit and kicked myself up to the surface, pushing blindly against the foam to grab onto the edge of the boat. I felt something sturdy wrap around my wrist and yank me upwards and out of the water. I tumbled onto the boat, spluttering. Air! Fresh air! Some heavy smacks rained down across my back and I tried to fully cough it all out.

Phew, that was stupid. I almost forgot for a second that I wasn't actually at Atlantica yet. I took a full, deep breath and relaxed. That was a painful mistake.

"What happened? Sora? Hey, are you..." Riku knelt down in front of me, his face all stormy.

I managed to spit out a laugh, still coughing. "Y-yeah, I'm fine." I grinned broadly, hoping to clear up that worried haze in his eyes. "Really!"

He slumped his head forward. "What, did you forget how to swim? I was that close to jumping in after you."

"Uh, well...the water was so nice I...uh, just...f-forgot to..." Any sense of concern in his face was replaced with something much scarier and I winced, expecting him to clobber me.

But nothing came. I opened one eye slowly and saw him rigidly frowning back at me with that same grim expression he always has when he's upset.

"Sorry..."

 _Ow!_

I rubbed at my head. I'm not even going to argue that one. But hey, there was at least one positive and I couldn't help but smile at it. "Were you really going to jump in after me?"

"Obviously."

Heh, not even a hesitation. He's so cool sometimes. I wonder if he would consider being a lifeguard, ever. Then he would get to sit on that awesome tall chair! I've always wanted to climb on one of those. Oh, and they have those megaphones that double as telescopes, too.

His eyebrow twitched at me. "Something funny?"

"Not really, just happy you've got my back even when I do something kinda...stupid."

He shook his head and sighed heavily but I could tell he was trying not to smile. "Just my luck I had to pick an idiot like you to be my best friend."

Riku compliments were often a bit harsh but it was always nice to get them. I joined him up on the side and looked out at the other sailboats dotting this part of the ocean. At least sailing club was pretty laid back about everything. All the other clubs were like "Hey! Mandatory practice every chance we get for at least two hours! And if you don't come we'll put a horde of angry bees in your school bag!". We just got a semi apathetic shrug from our club organizer and a simple "Hey, come if you want". I guess that's why we picked it. Nothing better than being able to drift around the ocean every now and again with Riku as my first mate. Because I'm always the captain. I don't care what he says.

I twisted my head around upside down, marveling at how strange the boats of our club mates looked this way, like they were sailing on the sky. I smiled, and chanced a peek back at Riku. There he was again, staring off into the distance miserably. I squinted my eyes at him. I've got an idea.

I pulled as weird a face as I could hold and started counting. Let's see how long it takes him to notice. One. Two. Three...Really, Riku? Five...six-

He shook his head, startled by my face, and finally laughed. How many days has he been like this? At least three now. I know he said he would talk to me about it when he was ready but...come on. I kicked my feet out over the side of the boat in frustration, forgetting that this would pitch us too far to one side. The sail bobbed and the boat reeled over, threatening to tip. Both of us quickly jumped up: me at the sail and Riku pulling at the rudder at the back. We caught the wind and wrapped the boat around, letting it settle back to a slow drift. At least I didn't fall in again.

Now that it looked like we weren't in a pinch, I plopped myself back down on the boat, this time on the opposite side to help with the weight distribution. He promised, so...it feels wrong to bring it up again. But I hate just sitting here watching him struggling with something. Gah! I rustled my hair in frustration.

A splash of water hit me in the face and I spluttered indignantly.

"What was that for?"

"Because you keep forgetting we're on a sailboat."

Yeah, yeah, earlier I had forgotten to keep an eye on the sail and it clipped me in the back of the head, knocking me over the edge. It didn't hurt too much, honestly, but I swear I wasn't just being stupid. I just couldn't stop checking up on him today because he's been extraordinarily broody.

I puffed out some air in frustration. "Well you're the one distracti-"

He tried to splash more water in my direction but I shifted to the side and retaliated. He couldn't let go of the rudder right now without the boat being twisted out of control so he took it right in the face. Ha! Ha! I am king! Uh...wait…

Riku furrowed his brow and charged at me, wrapping his arm tight under mine and pitching us both into the water. Commanderless, our boat twisted and flopped to the side.

I shoved him off underwater and surfaced, splashing in all directions, hoping some spray might get him. "It's a mutiny! Traitor!"

"For the last time I never agreed to let you be captain." He returned fire but I was flailing so much I couldn't quite tell what direction he was coming from.

"I won last time! And I asked to be captain!" I wasn't going to let this go, no way.

"You won last week. Today's different."

I stopped my assault and gestured over to the limp sailboat drifting away from us. "Fine! First one to the-"

He splashed me again in an attempt to get a head start and I immediately gave chase. I pulled myself through the water, trying not to focus too much on where he was just in case it distracted me again. I reached out with my hand to touch the edge of the boat and...YES!

I spun around in the water, searching for him. He was eyeing me from over at the collapsed sail.

"I won." We both shouted to the other, almost in unison.

"What!?" I smacked the boat hull with my hand and gestured sharply at it with the other. Excuse me? "What is this, then?"

"I touched the sail before you got there. And the sail is technically part of the boat."

"Well, yeah it's _part_ of the boat. But that's _not_ the boat. _This_ is the boat."

"I don't recall you specifying only the hull."

"I...huh?" Didn't I? I concentrated hard, trying desperately to remember exactly what I had said earlier.

He laughed, at least hopefully forgetting his concerns for a while. "Come on, help me get this up."

We both started the same routine task of picking the ship up out of the ocean. It wasn't too hard alone, and certainly easy enough with two. Especially a great team like us.

Once we got the boat righted, we took our seats back on the sides. I shook out my hair, despite knowing that it would probably get wet in another minute or so. Riku shielded his face from the droplets.

"I seriously don't understand how your hair does that."

I pulled at the spikes that, while damp, were still distinct. "I dunno. Maybe I should become a hair model."

I did a ridiculous pose with my arms framing my face at first but then stopped and frowned. "...how does a hair model pose, exactly?"

Riku opened his mouth to speak but then his attention was caught by something just behind me towards the shore. He stared for a moment before pointing over to it. Come to think of it, I did pick up on some distant shouting...I turned over my shoulder to see Selphie going absolutely crazy jumping up and down on the docks waving her arms at us.

"Hey! Heeey! Heeeeeeeey!"

I wonder what she could want so badly. It's not like there was festival work today, this was like...the only day off for that stuff. We shrugged at each other and started steering the craft back towards the dock. I leaped off once we got close and caught the dock line Riku tossed over to me me. I looped it once around the mooring pole but before I could finish tying it off or grab the other dock line, a force started dragging me backwards.

"Wha-hey, Selphie, what are you-"

She continued yanking hard on my arm, almost painfully. "Sorry, Riku! I really need to borrow him for today."

"Wait, for what?" I stumbled behind her, barely managing to slip my sandals on. "Hold on, Riku and the boat-"

I spun back around to see Riku just waving me off with a shrug, continuing the mooring by himself. "Bring him back in one piece."

"Geez, Selphie what could be so important that you can't even let me help him first?"

"It's a really super duper important favor! Besides, you'll thank me later."

"Wha-? Can I at least grab my bag and get changed?"

She paused and glanced at me, maybe just noticing that I was only wearing my swimming trunks. Her eyes traced me up and down for a moment before she shook her head curtly and continued dragging me off the beach past the club locker room towards the road to school. "Nah, you look fine. Shirtless is always better with guys, anyway."

"W-What!? But where are we going!?"

Instead of leading me up to the school, thankfully, we took a sudden turn down towards the...tennis courts? Oh, no. I immediately dug in my heels and Selphie stumbled, unable to yank me forward.

She must have realized that I caught on and she stopped struggling to force me, instead putting her hands firmly on her hips. "We aren't there yet!"

"Can you at least tell me what this is about?"

She narrowed her eyes. "If I tell you, will you agree to come no matter what?"

I laughed hesitantly, remembering what Riku advised about agreeing to things too quickly. "Well you said it was important so I want to help you but I'm just really confused and-"

"Fine. Can I ask you one thing?"

I nodded.

"If you had the chance to take Kairi out on a date, would you?"

"D-date!?" I stammered, mind racing. My whole face burned but no matter where I tried to hide she kept following me with a look I couldn't quite place. I was spluttering out random words, unable to even string a sentence together. What did she mean by that? She must just be teasing me. Though I don't remember her being so insistent or serious about this stuff before.

She hummed. "Yeah, I thought so. Let's go pick her up."

"What!? I can't—you can't-"

I've never even thought about dates before. I mean what counts as a date? Dinner together or something? Or going to some event? Of course I'd love to spend more time with Kairi, I don't have to think twice about that. But, a date? I haven't prepared for this at all! I mean...not to mention I'm just standing here like an idiot in my swimsuit. This has to be a joke.

"Selphie..." I pleaded with my eyes.

She rolled hers. "Oh, relax. It's not _actually_ a date, okay? It's just the two of you are the best pair I could think of to solve this really important problem of mine. And...well..." She sighed. "I'm sure you've noticed how stressed she is with things, right?"

I frowned. She really hasn't been herself at all. The whole day today especially she was being both incredibly clingy but distant at the same time, insisting on hovering close to me and Riku as much as possible, but never really saying anything. There's this...indescribable heaviness floating around her. Almost like she's been trying really hard not to cry.

"Yeah. It...hurts to see her like that."

"And you want to help make her happy, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then I need you to go with her on this errand and really take her mind off things. Just for a little bit. Be her assistant and help her out here and there. Okay? I'm _really_ counting on you for this one. I know if anyone can cheer her up it's you. Just...ah...don't tell her that's why I'm sending you along." She still had this weirdly suspicious grin on her face like she wasn't telling me the whole truth.

"So...it's like a super special secret plan to give Kairi the best day ever?"

The corners of her mouth twitched. "Exactly! I'm so glad you understand."

Why did I get the feeling this was a trap? And why did she even bring up the stuff about a date if this wasn't related to that at all? Probably just to throw me off. Because I'm definitely still so confused...and still in a swimsuit.

"So...uh...wouldn't it still be better for me to get changed, then?"

"Absolutely not!"

"But-"

"Stop complaining and just come on!" She grabbed my arm and resumed steering me down the path to the courts.

It was a bit of an awkward walk, as I had to pass quite a few other students on the way. Most of them seemed in a really good mood when they passed us so I just smiled and waved back. Confidence is key, right? If it doesn't look like it bothers me, maybe people won't be as bothered by my getup, either.

As soon as we stepped onto the court my eyes immediately began searching for her. Her hair, like always, made her fairly easy to spot. She was chatting with one of the other girls in the club. Runa, I think. I guess they had just finished being sparring partners. ...People do "spar" in tennis, right? Kairi had her back to me and was reaching forward a bit over the net. Her skirt was also just slightly...well...uh...it looked good the way she was standing. I _really_ liked that tennis uniform. From in the distance I could also just barely hear the sound of her laughter and everything around me started to feel incredibly, uncomfortably warm.

Selphie smacked my arm. "Aw, you're so cute. Kairi! Over here!"

I fidgeted, not sure where to put my hands as I watched Kairi spin around, catching her hair up by her ear. I bet she would be a really pretty dancer, too...

"Selphie! Um..." She waved quickly back to her friend and approached us, confused. "Why did you drag Sora here...in his swimsuit?" She looked me up and down and sighed, crossing her arms. "That's so mean! Everyone's over there snickering at him. Look at how red his face is, he's probably so embarrassed!"

I just laughed, trying to go along with it so I didn't have to explain I was probably only flushed because I had been staring too long at her legs. Ugh, that makes me sound like such a creep. "I-it's fine, she said it was really important, so..."

"Well. I'm glad to see you, despite your...lack of shirt." She quickly interjected and smiled at me. I noticed her eyes lingered for a second on my stomach. Did I have some seaweed stuck there or something? I checked, just to be sure, but didn't see anything. I wonder what she was looking at, then. When I checked back up, she was instead very carefully examining the tape on her racket. Must have been nothing.

Selphie looked _really_ excited though for some reason. She was practically jumping back and forth. "Okay, so, Kairi I need a _huge_ favor from you. I know this is like, the one day of the week you don't have festival work to deal with but I can't think anyone else who can do it."

Kairi had a rather distantly sad look in her eyes and I could tell she really didn't want to say yes, but knowing her she absolutely will. She gave her friend a weak smile.

"Sure. Just let me pack up my stuff first." She walked over to her gym bag and started gathering various gear, stuffing it haphazardly inside.

"Thanks so much, Kairi. See, I worked out a deal to get some flowers for the festival but I just don't have enough time or knowledge of flowers to know which ones to put on the order. And, well, since you do all that flower arranging in your free time..."

She listened silently, nodding along to the instructions as Selphie continued on.

"The florist is a bit far away, off the island but I think you know her? So...I figured you would be the best team for the job."

Kairi abruptly stopped zipping up her bag. "Team?"

I grinned over at her. "I'm coming too!"

Selphie nodded curtly. "Exactly. I figure it's always best to get both a girl's and boy's opinion so the displays have a wide appeal. Aaand on top of that Kairi, you've got the most knowledge of flowers out of everyone I know. You'll definitely know what's cute." She turned her eyes hesitantly in my direction. "And Sora you've got...arms."

"Sure do!" I brandished said arms grandly. Hero pose!

Kairi giggled and I saw not a single trace of that sadness from earlier. Great! Plan is already working!

Selphie sighed. "Yeah. If you need to bring anything back with you, like if our trellis is ready, let him handle it."

"Yeah! You've been working so hard but I haven't been able to do anything to help. So today I'll be your super special assistant!"

Kairi might have sighed, but I could tell she was happy. "Selphie, does this have something to do with-"

Selphie hugged her abruptly. "Take your time, okay?" She turned to me and rapped me on the head, lowering her voice. "And you'd better not mess this up."

I laughed. "I don't know too much about flowers but I'll do my best."

She pointed to me firmly. "Kairi, he's your assistant today so he had better do _everything_ you tell him to, okay? If he doesn't let me know!"

Before Kairi could speak again, Selphie shoved a piece of paper into her hand and dashed off. "Have fun!"

We were left in a brief and somewhat awkward silence. I rubbed the back of my head, now feeling distinctly out of place among the other tennis club members while in this outfit. I gestured to my swimsuit with a laugh.

"So, uh, would it be alright if your assistant gets changed really fast?"

She tilted her head and looked me up and down with a smile. "Hmm...yeah, I suppose a swimsuit isn't a typical outfit for either assistant work or picking up flowers."

She pulled at the shirt of her own uniform. "I'll get changed out of this, too."

Oh. Darn.

I crossed my arms, thinking hard. "You know, we could both just go like this. It'd be kinda funny. We could drop in on Leon and try to convince him that we are coming from underwater tennis practice!"

She leaned in and flicked one of my bangs. "Good assistant rule one: no lying."

"Huh?"

She pointed to the note that Selphie had passed into her hands. It was some order details for the flowers written on polka dotted stationary. Below those was a list called 'Mandatory Good Assistant Rules'. Sure enough, the very first one listed was "no lying". Seriously? I hung my head. Would something like that even count as lying?

I relented. "Okay, okay, I guess the world isn't ready for the two greatest underwater tennis players."

"...Maybe the only ones?"

"Well, yeah, but that's the best part! We would win every game!" I cheered.

"Would we really have fun just playing against ourselves?"

"Won't know until we try." I mean...how could underwater tennis _not_ be fun? I'm not exactly sure how it would be played but it still sounds fun.

She finished zipping up her gym bag and I quickly grabbed both it and her purse up before she could protest. "I'm supposed to use my arms today, right? Might as well start now."

She snatched her purse back. "Fine, but I'm carrying this at least. I can't have you looking _too_ ridiculous. Anyway, let's just go get changed at home so we can wear something more casual out to pick these flowers up. I'm not too keen on wearing my school uniform or having to get changed twice."

I agreed and we started back towards our neighborhood. Hopefully Riku won't be too upset that I totally ditched him. I noticed she was lagging a bit behind me, her face clouded with daydreams.

"What'cha thinking about?"

A little startled, she shook her head. "Ah, o-oh. Just...um...trying to figure out how we could even play tennis underwater. Maybe it's impossible?"

I'm not sure if she was being entirely truthful about her thoughts, but I figured it would be better to just play it off. "Well...uh, it's easy! You just get someone to stand in the water and the other person gets up on their shoulders and you try to hit the ball over a net floating with some buoys or something."

"But if we are the only players, who are we hitting the ball to? Or does that not matter?"

"Maybe we have Riku on the other side? And if we hit him we get double points."

She put a finger to her chin, considering it. "We would have to find Riku a partner, to help defend him though. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."

I squinted hard in thought. "...Selphie…?"

I think we both tried to picture it together but once our eyes made contact we burst into laughter. That was a definite no. I adjusted her bag strap from slipping off my shoulder and then straightened, putting my hands behind my head so I could walk more relaxed.

"How was sailing today?" She glanced out over the waves down the hill where some boats still dotted the sea.

"Not bad. We sorted out some details about the next race but that's not for a while."

"How many times did you fall out?" She teased.

"Just once! Well, twice if you count when Riku pushed us both off."

"Hmm...I'll give you a pass on that second one, I suppose."

We continued walking along the coastal path, ducking now and again under a few of those big overhanging green leafy plants.

"Out of curiosity, what are the other rules I'm supposed to follow today?"

Kairi pulled the paper out and scanned it. "It has three here. Rule two is no complaining, and rule three says no fighting."

"Wait, no fighting? What if some bad guy tries to come steal you away? If I can't fight him I might lose you forever!" I laughed, but noticed Kairi had slowed her steps a little, staring at her shoes. I stopped and nudged her shoulder gently. "H-hey, don't worry, we already beat up all the bad guys, right?"

She half nodded, biting her lower lip.

"And even if one does show up, there's no way I'd-"

I nearly fell backwards in surprise but caught myself, feeling the softness of her face against my chest. H-hugging me. Kairi was hugging me. As much as I wanted to enjoy the feeling, I could tell she was trembling a little, like she was scared. Or worse, trying not to cry again.

"K-Kairi, hey, what's wrong? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said something like that."

She shook her head aggressively against me. "No, it's not that...I just...I've been thinking about so many things. And I don't want to lose you. Not again."

She squeezed me even tighter. So much so it was almost hard to breathe but I just did my best to hold her shoulders and ease her shaking. "Even if I go away somewhere you'll never lose me. We promised each other that before, right?"

"R-right..." She sniffed and pulled back slightly so she could wipe some tears from her eyes before they fell.

I kept my hands wrapped over her upper arms, not wanting to rush her but also not really wanting to let her go. She dropped her forehead against my chest once more and her hair so softly brushed against me. I started feeling that warm shivering feeling again and I gulped, trying really hard to suppress it back. Now definitely was not the time to be getting giddy over this, not when she needed help. It was just so much better, er...worse in this case, against my bare skin.

"I'm sorry. I know it doesn't really make sense..." She sighed, wiping at her eyes again.

I rubbed my thumbs lightly across her arms. "Well that's okay. I run into a ton of stuff every day that doesn't make sense but that doesn't bother me. I just want you to feel better."

She wrapped her arms around the back of my neck and I felt one of her fingers flick my hair. "I'm starting to. Sorry for being so strange all of a sudden."

I laughed. "I don't mind, really!"

"I still feel bad being a hassle..."

I noticed her mood falling again and decided to quickly try something else. "Hey, remember that time you were little and had some scary nightmare about eels? You kept crying every time me or Riku went into the water because you thought we would get eaten."

She blinked a bit, trying to recall. "Right...yeah...I do remember that! It was the peak of summer, super hot, but the two of you put up with me and helped me set up a little pool in the back yard instead. That was really sweet."

"I don't regret doing that at all, even though we got scolded pretty hard about wasting all that water."

"Yeah...my parents were pretty angry about it, weren't they?" She sighed, reflecting.

"I didn't mind helping you then, so of course I don't mind helping you now! I never like it when you're sad."

"Thanks..." Her body wasn't shaking as much as before, so I could tell she had calmed down a little.

"Anything else I can do? I am supposed to be your assistant after all."

She lifted her chin, smiling brightly up at me. "Just be yourself."

That was...a bit difficult at the moment. It was taking all my willpower to ignore her touch against my skin. I couldn't help but notice how close she was; how much I wanted to just close my eyes and lean that tiniest bit forward…

Such a small distance, yet such an endless space I wanted to linger. It wasn't enough, I wanted her closer. I wanted that pain of hers to go away. And if she was sad because she was worried about losing me, I want her to know that I am here. What's stopping me, anyway? Why not...just this once...

Almost like an automatic response, my hands, still holding her by the shoulders pulled her gently towards me. Everything but the thought of her melted away as I was surrounded by the smell of raspberry rose.

Stop. Stop, stop, stop. I kicked myself out of my stupor and abruptly froze in shrinking the distance between us. I can't do this. Especially not now. She's hurting and scared and I can't just ignore that to do what I want. She was still looking happily up at me, but I could tell she was starting to get a bit confused, probably wondering why I had suddenly gotten so quiet. I gave her the biggest smile I could, wrapped her in a huge hug, and spun her in a circle. She gasped, clutching at my neck tighter. I finished my circle and set her back down again. Laughing now, she released me with a playful smack on the shoulder.

"What was that for? You surprised me!"

"I dunno. Just felt like doing it." I shrugged and returned her smile. "After all, you did say I should be myself."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine if that's the way you want to be today you'd better prepare yourself for a surprise! I'll get you next and it's going to be good."

I hesitantly rubbed my head. "Uh...guess it's too late to take it back, then?"

"Far too late!" She started quickly making her way towards her house, leaving me standing slightly speechless in the road.

"Wait, seriously?"

She called out over her shoulder, but kept moving. "Seriously!"

I started trying to catch up to her but she picked up her pace, giggling.

"Kairi-"

"Begging won't help!"

I broke into a run and chased after her, until she finally came to a halt at the intersection that split the separate paths to our houses. She giggled again, requesting her gym bag back.

"I'll probably be slower to get changed than you so once you're done just come over to my house and we can head out from there, okay?"

I offered the bag over but held onto it tightly for a minute so she couldn't quite pull it away. "Just to check, you're telling me to go to my house, then go to yours?"

She tugged a bit on the bag strap. "Um...yes? Is that okay?"

"Sure thing! I will be at my house, then at yours!" I winked at her playfully. "I can't be lost if you know exactly where I am, right?"

Instead of taking the bag from me, she gently squeezed my hands first. "That's true. I'll see you soon?"

I released the bag to her and waved as I ran off.

A day alone with Kairi. A day alone without losing control of myself around her. This was going to be a challenge.

* * *

She was right, I was a bit faster at getting changed. I knocked on her door to find her mom, surprisingly. Normally her dad was the only one home because her mom would be off at the town hall doing...governmenty things. She stepped aside to let me in and wordlessly went back around the corner to the dining area. I slipped off my shoes and started making my way down the hall towards Kairi's room, but I heard her voice practically yell at me before I could reach the bottom of the steps.

"Oh, Sora! Wouldn't you much rather join me here at the table and wait?" I turned to look through the open door at her and froze. _Geez_ those eyes were scary.

I glanced back and forth for a minute between her at the table and the stairs at the end of the hall. "Uh..."

I wasn't particularly sure why she wanted to hang out with me, but I felt like saying "no" was definitely the wrong answer. I somewhat reluctantly made my way over and lowered myself down into a chair. The silence in the room was suffocating.

She waited for me to take a seat, then just returned to scribbling away at some big dusty book. Why did she want me to sit here so badly if she wasn't even going to say anything? I frowned and tried to lean over to see what she was working on. She flicked those scary eyes back up and me and I instantly shrank against the back of my seat. Private stuff, got it.

"Is...uh...mayoring going well? I bet its busy for you too with the festival..."

She sighed deeply, removing her glasses to rub at her eyes for a moment. "Yes. My 'mayoring' is going well, thank you."

"Oh, great!" I smiled.

She just kept glaring at me. What did I even do?

"Kairi told me the other day she thinks you are mad at her. Any reason why?"

"Wha-?" Kairi thought I was mad at her? Why would she think something like that? Probably the last time I got upset with her was when she ate my last gummy egg in middle school…and that's just because she ended up not even liking it! Don't eat my gummy eggs if you aren't going to appreciate their gummi-ness. "I'm not ma—"

"I didn't think so." She smacked the big book closed so suddenly I jumped. "So then, tell me, is there something else going on?"

"Something...else?" What was she talking about?

She kept her steady gaze right on me and I shifted in my chair, really hoping Kairi would come downstairs soon.

"I don't know for sure. But I just have a sneaking suspicion something is changing between you two. Maybe not for the better."

Changing...? In a bad way? Does she think we are growing apart or something? Of course not! "Even if I was mad about something—w-which I'm not!-I would never forget how important she is to me. You don't have to worry about that!"

"Perhaps that is exactly where my concerns lie."

"H-huh?"

"...But I suppose I shouldn't begrudge dedication when it comes to things like this." She rolled her fingers across the tabletop.

"Uh...thanks...I guess?" I smiled nervously. As a kid her mom constantly confused me. I had hoped the older I got the less she would, but now it seems she's almost gotten worse.

Still, I wasn't too bothered about that now. If Kairi really did think I was upset about something, maybe that's why she has been getting teared up about things, lately. Maybe that's why she was crying back then, saying she didn't want to lose me. What could I have done to make her think something like that? I racked my brain but nothing unusual was really standing out. How am I supposed to prove to her I'm not mad if I don't even know what I did that made her think I was upset in the first place? Gah! It doesn't matter! I clenched my fists decisively. I'll just put in triple the effort now to make my secret mission today a success!

I gave her mom as reassuring a smile as I could muster, given the circumstances. "I'm glad you told me. I won't give up until she knows for sure that everything's okay!"

Her mom smiled back a little from over her folded fingers. "I suppose at the end of the day that's all that should matter."

"R-right!" I laughed happily. Her mom still didn't make a whole lot of sense but it seems we reached some kind of understanding. I think. Something about the way she was staring at me, though, just made me feel incredibly unsettled.

"Hey! Sorry for taking so long!"

Kairi entering the room dissipated all the tension, like just after a rainstorm on a hot summer day when the humidity goes down and it all feels nice and refreshing. I leapt out of my chair and darted over to her, hoping she could shield me.

"We'll try to make it back in decent time, but I'm not sure how complicated this flower order is." She gave her mom a quick hug from behind. "Don't worry about dinner today, either. I'll probably end up getting something there."

Her mom smiled, turning suspicious eyes on me. "Make sure it's something more substantial than sweets."

"Of course!" She waved goodbye and prodded me with a finger so I would follow her out the door. I gave a quick wave back to her mom, still with that _look_ on her face.

"S-see you."

Once we exited the house I breathed a loud sigh of relief. Kairi turned to me suspiciously, smiling.

"Was my mom giving you a hard time again?"

"I don't even know...she just suddenly seemed to get upset once I tried to go up to-"

"She's just being protective. She knows we are good friends but you are...well, you know…"

No, I don't know. "What?"

"...A boy? She probably didn't want you going up to my room alone."

What? That wouldn't make any sense, would it? "But we've been alone in your room lots of times! I used to sleep over at least once a week!"

She giggled. "Yeah, when we were kids. It's...a little different now that we are older, don't you think?"

I frowned, crossing my arms. "Why should it be? I'm still me and you're still you."

She nodded. "I suppose that's true."

Realization struck me. "Right! And one other thing!" I spun and faced her, narrowing my eyes and leaning towards her in mock anger. "I'm supposed to be mad at you, huh?"

"E-eh?" Startled, she fell back a bit.

"Your mom was asking why I was mad at you, because you seemed to think so." I poked her playfully on the nose and smiled. "Well I'm not."

She fidgeted a bit and sighed. "It's hard to explain..."

I shrugged lightly. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted to let you know everything is still fine over here."

"I'm...glad. Thank you."

I returned to walking and kicked at a loose pebble. "I still don't get why I'm not allowed in your room anymore...wait! Does this mean no more camp outs in the tent? No more sleepovers? What else isn't allowed now?"

She sighed. "Think of it this way: if we had a sleepover alone and you told someone 'hey, I slept with Kairi last night!' don't you think that would probably be taken the wrong way?"

Oh. Right. That does sound…uh...I felt myself blushing a bit. "Well it wouldn't just be us two! Riku would be there, so I would make sure they knew I was sleeping with both of you at the same ti—I-I mean, uh...w-wait..."

I smacked my head with my hand as she giggled at me. I walked right into that one.

"See? It could cause some problems. But don't worry; while I respect my mom's decisions in her home, I'm not going to stop being together with you two. Alone or not."

I nodded. "Great! And I'll try to keep that in mind when I come over next time. I'm just not used to thinking like you're a girl."

She abruptly halted, her brow furrowed angrily. Oh no. Oooooh no. "W-wait, no, that's not what I meant!"

"Uh huh..." She put her hands on her hips.

"Obviously you're a girl! R-really obviously! Anyone would know that because your body is...g-girl...shaped..."

" _Uh huh..."_

...I hate myself. "N-no it's...to me you're Kairi! Your own special person! You know? Not just a girl...I-I mean it's different, right?"

She sighed and bopped me on the head. "You really need to think before you speak. I understand what you are trying to say, though, and it's sweet. In a...different sort of way."

I sagged, feeling like a deflated balloon.

She gave me a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "You're special to me too."

Grinning, I quickly tried to change subjects. "I assume you want to fly there? It will be faster than taking the ferry and trains out." I pointed up to where the ship would be hovering above.

She tipped her head, agreeing. We usually just shared the one but Riku had recently insisted on getting his own now that Cid's business re purposing all the unused gummi materials was catching on. It wasn't necessary to travel with them now, but with all the excess parts lying around why not use them for something. Besides, it really was faster.

"Great! All aboard to...uh...where, again?"

"Radiant Garden."

"Right!"

Kairi was definitely the best co-pilot. She always let me drive and was a sharp lookout. The best part was when she would sing to pass the time.

The trip was fairly uneventful, and soon we were already arriving in town. I knew Kairi had a very special attachment to this place, so I figured I would let her lead. That, and I have no idea where this flower shop is supposed to be.

"So, um...who is the flower person we are going to?"

She smiled and set off across the courtyard. "You'll see!"

She knew so many florists. Radiant Garden was basically every gardeners' dream. She went to visit all the time after all the worlds reconnected. Maybe because of the flowers but also maybe because it was where she was born and wandering around all the old streets triggered some of her lost memories now and again.

"Selphie said you were friends. Have I ever met them?"

"Hmm...I wonder?"

"Kairi! I'm really curious now!"

"Rule number two, Sora! No complaining!"

I sighed and followed along. It seems like every time I visit, the town has a completely different color because of all the different blooms. Or maybe I just don't pay enough attention to this stuff. I noticed in the fountains they had set up these neat lights so when the water shot up in all those fun patterns it looked like it was changing color too. They keep coming up with such cool new ideas!

I noticed that we were starting to head in the direction of Cid's shop and Tifa's bar. But the only flower shop that I knew in that direction was… "Oh! Is it Aerith!?"

She flicked my hair. "Took you long enough."

I dashed on ahead, skidding to a halt when I saw the familiar face of the most persistent ninja ever trying to jump me from the roof. She landed just ahead of me, bouncing around on her toes. "A-ha! I caught you in record time today."

I laughed and raised my arms in surrender. "How did you find us so fast this time?"

"They don't call me great for nothing!" Yuffie boasted proudly.

I nodded enthusiastically but she suddenly started to laugh.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you. Cid installed a thing he called a GTR. Stands for...what was it, again? Gummi Tracking Radio or Radar or something. It sets off a little signal when there's a ship coming to land, with a different tune programmed for each unique one it can recognize."

"A song?" My eyes lit up. "So I have a song!?"

"Well yeah, duh. That's how I-"

"Can I hear!?"

I felt myself being yanked backwards by my hood.

"Sora, we have something important to do now, remember?"

I teetered off balance. "Yeah, but-" Before I could complain, I bit my tongue. Rule two, I remember. There will be time later. "R-right! Got it!"

Yuffie glanced back and forth between the two of us. Her face looked confused for a moment then she started to snicker devilishly.

"You two are out _alone_ today, huh? What's the occasion?"

Kairi pointed over to the flower shop a few doors down. "Just going to stop by Aerith's to do a favor for someone."

"That's all? He seems awfully well behaved for just that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I frowned at her.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all! Have fuuun!" She skipped off somewhere in a hurry before I could get another word in edgewise.

Kairi, apparently not bothered by this, just kept heading straight for the flower shop. Man, I didn't realize this whole not complaining thing was going to be so hard to follow today.

As the door to the flower shop opened, it triggered the small jingle of a bell attached on a string hanging loosely over it. Aerith peeked her head out from behind a curtain in the back of the shop. She lit up when she saw us and dropped a bunch of some yellow flowers onto the counter as she floated out to meet us.

She rested a hand on each of our shoulders. "I'm so glad to see you both looking well. I guess you are the representatives for the committee I heard were coming today."

Kairi hummed. "Is this an alright time to discuss things?"

"Of course. Though, I do have to say I'm surprised to see Sora here. I never took him to be a...flower person."

Before I could answer, Kairi responded for me. "He's my officially appointed assistant for today."

"Oh, I see!" She laughed and indicated for us to follow her through another doorway into the greenhouse. I had seen the outside many times but had never actually gone inside and was almost floored by the sheer number of plants in all varieties.

"Whoa!" I ran over and gestured to some massive orange thing with petals all over the place. It was like...the size of my head. "What is this thing!?" I reached out to touch it when I heard my name being called sharply by both of the girls at the same time.

I turned and Kairi gently grabbed my hand away from the flower. "Sora, that's a type of Pereskia and it's pretty sharp so it's best not to handle it without protective gloves."

"Oh..." I didn't realize flowers of all things could be so dangerous. I backed up a bit.

Kairi giggled and whispered something to Aerith, who smiled as well. "I'm sorry about that Sora, I should have warned you. I keep quite a few exotic plants in here so maybe it's best to keep your hands close unless you know what you are dealing with. The tiger lilies are safe though, if you'd like to see them. They are-"

"Over here, right?" I pointed to the large lilies sticking out from around the corner. I approached and gave them a test smell. "Hey! These are really nice! Kairi, do you think we could use these?" I turned to see both of them staring at me strangely. "...what? No good?"

Let me guess: toxic fumes?

Aerith smiled. "Oh, it's not that. I think we are both only a little surprised that you were able to recognize them."

Kairi narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You definitely never knew any flowers before..."

Ah...looks like I got caught. I don't normally know much about flowers, that was for sure. But I knew they were really important to Kairi. She always made these really pretty arrangements with her club and I tried to appreciate them but she always had to explain the symbolism behind the types of flowers she used. Once she put a lot of effort into these ones she gifted to me and Riku. I liked the colors and it looked pretty, but she seemed a little sad when I said I couldn't name a single type of flower she had made it with. Riku couldn't either, but still. She had put a lot of work into finding four flowers specifically that each started with the same letters of our names. Mine was: snowdrops, an orchid, a...rhododenderda...rhodotron?, and some apple blossom. I felt a little bad I missed all that since she obviously put a lot of effort into not only finding flowers that matched each other, but that had the right letters. I decided after that I would try really hard to study at least a few basic flowers so I could appreciate her other arrangements, but...it's really, really hard. I had been hoping to surprise her with that the next time she made me one, but...I guess it can't be helped now.

"Yeah...um...I've been trying to learn a little. It's important to you and I felt bad neither me or Riku could enjoy the hobby with you so..."

Kairi rushed over to me and shoved my shoulder with a smile. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm still working on it."

"I could have helped you learn, you silly." She pointed over towards some of the other flowers in the room. "Do you recognize any others?"

I glanced over at Aerith, who was smiling quietly in the corner at me. She probably knows just about every flower in existence and now I had to prove I knew a few. I sighed. "Talk about pressure..."

"It's okay if you can't. I'm just curious." Kairi was looking far too eager for me to back out now.

I started pointing to the ones I could remember. "Well, over there are some violets? And that's definitely some kind of rose. It looks like there might be a bunch of orchids over there and um...that's a...hip biscuit?"

"Hibiscus." Kairi gently corrected. "We have a lot of those at home."

"Yeah, they're really pretty, too."

Aerith came over and trimmed one of the hibiscus flowers off, twisting it around something small in her hand and offering it over to Kairi. "Here, a little hair pin for you if you like. Sora, do you have a favorite flower?"

I laughed. "For my hair? No thanks."

She shook her head. "No, I'm just curious."

"I don't think I ever thought about it, sorry. I like a lot of them, especially lilies in general like calla's and amaryllis."

Kairi rubbed my hair. "I don't suppose you've also been secretly studying color combinations?"

"Uh..."

"Well, we can't ask for everything." Aerith smiled. "As far as the order goes, I have the flowers but we need to sort out which to group together for all of the different pieces."

I frowned. "I'm not sure how much I can help with that..."

Kairi leaned to look around my head at a small clock mounted on the wall. "Well, it might take us a while...Sora, how about you just take an hour or so to do what you like then you can come back and see if you like what we come up with?"

"That feels a little...unfair. Besides, what kind of assistant would just leave their...assisted...person?"

Kairi lead me towards the door. "What if I give you a job to do? Is that okay?"

I bobbed my head. "Anything you want!"

"I want you to...figure out what we will do for dinner tonight. Then..." She tilted her eyes up, thinking hard. "I'm ordering you to...treat a friend to ice cream! For at least an hour!"

"But…"

"Rule two!"

I laughed a little, giving her a salute. "Dinner and ice cream it is!" I gave Aerith a quick wave before heading out. "Good luck, thanks for helping us out!"

She returned my wave with a quiet smile.

I exited the store and checked around. Cid's place was already closed for the day, and Tifa's bar wouldn't be open now, either...I wonder where everyone would be right now. Maybe if I rushed I could figure out where Yuffie ran off to. I took a few steps back towards the fountain square when a voice behind me brought me to a halt.

"Yo! Finally found you! Heard you stopped in."

Hey, that makes things easy! I spun around to find Lea giving me a half wave from the street corner.

"Perfect timing! I needed to find somebody!"

A brief touch of panic brushed his face. "...is this work related? I might have just remembered I needed to be somewhere..."

"Sort of. Kairi just ordered me to take someone out to ice cream for an hour."

He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder, steering me back up the road towards the ice cream shop. "Now that's an order I can follow!"

"How did you know I was here, anyway?"

"Bumped into a certain Ms. Peppy Ninja. She also let me in on a little interesting tidbit." He elbowed me a little in the side with a smile. "Word is you are alone with a special someone. And shes already giving you orders now? Talk about being whipped..."

I ignored his jab and answered cheerily. "I'm her personal assistant for the day! But...it's actually a super secret mission to cheer her up."

He stared. "Right...maybe you'd better give me the long version for this. You said we have an hour? Plenty of time."

As we made our way to fetch the ice cream and find a place to eat I tried to explain a bit, realizing quickly it was hard to find where to start. I explained as much as I could about her behavior lately, the stress of the festival and then lastly about what her mom had told me earlier, and he listened without interrupting the whole time.

I dropped down on a courtyard ledge, dangling my feet over the step and Lea joined me. "So...I'd been a bit worried about her for a while before Selphie came up and said she needed me to help get Kairi's mind off of things. And...that's why we're here."

Lea chewed at his ice cream thoughtfully. "So, basically…she sent the two of you off, alone, on a cushy mission so you could spend some relaxing time together and she could get a little pampering?"

"I...guess, yeah."

"Right." He started to laugh and smacked me hard on the back.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Buddy, you got tricked into taking Kairi on a date. Congrats."

"It's not a date! Dates are like...uh, well, I dunno. Eating spaghetti under the moon or something?" I'm not sure where I got that visual from, but it certainly seemed kinda textbook romance.

"Nope. Wrong. It's just two people who like each other spending time together. That's all, really."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's way too simple! If that was the case then wouldn't _we_ be on a date now?"

Lea choked a little in surprise. "Hey...I like you. But I don't _like_ you."

"...You just used the same word twice."

He turned and gave me an _are you serious right now_ look. "Of all the...okay, let me put things this way: I would take a hit for you, but...I wouldn't hit _on_ you. Heh, that was actually pretty clever. Surprised myself, even."

I munched into my ice cream in frustration. "You hit me all the time, you just did a few seconds ago."

"Oh boy. Come on, work with me here. You're a feelings kinda guy so just do what you usually do and listen to that thing." He poked me in the chest.

I stared at my shoes, kicking against the wall. "Well, yeah. Kairi makes me feel..." She makes me feel different. Warm, maybe? I can't really explain what it is.

Obviously not bothered that I only gave half an answer, Lea pressed further. "And does anyone else make you feel that way?"

I paused. It was always different, being around Kairi. I mean, I always felt different around everyone. When I was with Riku I felt happy, comfortable, a little competitive, sure, but that warm, indescribable lightness...that was something that only belonged to her. And that feeling I had today when she was near me...I shook my head slowly. It was definitely different.

"Look, how I feel isn't really the problem. I know all that. The problem is that this isn't a date because Kairi would have to feel the same way about me, right?"

"...You really are dense with some things." He shook his head at me.

"You don't have to be rude." I grumbled, taking my last bite of ice cream.

"You don't think she likes you?"

I passed the wooden ice cream stick back and forth between my hands. "I don't know...how am I supposed to know that? She treats me just like how she treats Riku. Unless she likes us both?"

"If you aren't sure, you could always do... _The Test_." He winked, and I couldn't help but feel like I was walking into another trap again.

"...Test?"

"The Ultimate Test. To see if someone likes you."

My eyes widened. "You can do that!?"

"Sure. It's pretty simple. Step one is eye contact. Step two is closeness and step three is touch. Got it?" He lifted each of his fingers in turn, waving them in front of my face.

I nodded slowly, trying to remember.

"So, here's what you do. First, you look deep into her eyes. She might glance away for a moment. That's a pretty good sign. Otherwise, she might just hold her eyes on yours. That's also good."

"Um...so you're saying she could either look at me or not look at me and it means the same thing…?" I slumped my head forward. I don't think I'm even going to understand step one...

"Listen first, questions later." Lea ordered sternly, rapping my head with his finger to get me to look back up at him. "Next you want to get nice and close to her and see how she reacts. If she takes a step back, that's a no go. If she stays where she is, or better yet, closes the distance even more you're ready for the final step. Do you remember what it was?"

I shifted a bit, starting to feel myself get a bit flushed thinking about all of this. "Um...touch, right?"

"Exactly. If she lets you touch her, or if she reaches out and touches you, then all that's left is to make a move."

"I thought moving was step two?"

Lea groaned. "No, no, I mean you kiss her!"

"I can't do that!" My face was definitely red now.

"Why not? Don't you want to?"

"I...that's..." I smacked my palms over both of my eyes and fell backwards against the pavement. "Ugh...isn't there something more simple instead?"

"Sora, it's three steps. How can that be too hard?"

"It's Kairi, of course it's hard!"

I heard Lea snicker over something. I lifted one of my hands away to peek out at him, grumbling. "I'm not sure what's so funny..."

He grinned and prodded me in my side. "Just a stupid joke I won't bother you with since it'll probably go right over your head."

I rolled away from him. "Well I'm glad you're having fun."

He poked me again. "Aw, come on. I'll tell you what, I'll help you out here."

"Really!?" I rolled back around to face him.

"I'm a sucker for happy endings. Here's what you do: go get something portable for dinner, and head up to the top of the flower hill. Great view of the sunset from up there. I'll make sure it stays nice and private for a little bit. Then do...whatever comes naturally to you."

I sat up and jumped down off the wall in excitement. "That sounds amazing!"

Lea tapped me on the head with the side of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I'm the best. But I'd better be getting a reward for the trouble. I don't work for free, you know."

I waved back at him quickly on my rush to the market. "Definitely! Thanks so much!"

Okay, now time to figure out what I am even going to get for dinner…I checked the time on the central clock tower fountain. Well, I managed to almost fill up the hour after all!

* * *

I don't know how they managed to work so fast, but these arrangements looked seriously awesome.

"I think they meet his approval." Aerith smiled and began taking copious notes, making sure to record the exact order details in a small floral notebook in her hands.

Kairi was standing by, looking rather pleased with herself.

I gestured to a cart that was sitting near the arrangements, assuming that was what we would use to transport them. "So, should we load these up here?"

Aerith shook her head. "No, these are just the samples for me to reference. I'll fix up the real ones for you the day before the event so your flowers will be nice and fresh."

"Will you need help moving them next week then?"

"Thank you for the offer, but I've got plenty of strong arms around here. I'm sure they will be willing to help out." She made a few final notes and set the notebook down.

"Leon's Flower Delivery?" I laughed and tried to picture it.

"Exactly."

I bounced a bit in excitement. "I hope he has to wear a really silly apron or something. Ooh! You could make it a musical flower gram and force him to si-"

"You shouldn't ask the impossible." Kairi leaned over and peeked into the bag I was holding. "And hopefully you didn't get just sweets for dinner today."

"Nope! Curry buns!" I held one up to show her, still wrapped in its paper. "Did you want one, Aerith? You've been working super hard, too."

She quickly refused. "I've already got plans for dinner tonight, unfortunately. You two go have fun."

I was a little disappointed I couldn't spend more time with her, but part of me was glad she turned my invitation down. Was that crummy of me? Kairi snatched the bag from me with a smile. "I assume you got plenty with chili mustard in them as well?"

Kairi had really interesting tastes sometimes. She definitely loved sweets, but when it came to spicy food she was the chili chomping master. Riku tried pranking us both once by putting some extra hot sauce in the chocolate pudding we were eating but she actually _liked_ it. Maybe it's her red hair. I bet it gives her super heat absorbing powers. After all, Lea likes spicy stuff too. Either way, knowing her tastes were so varied I made sure to pick up a whole set of different kinds.

"Yep! I even got the cute ones with little bunny ears."

"Bun buns!" She giggled and started skipping for the door. "Thanks for all your hard work today, Aerith!"

"You as well!" She called out after us. There was something nicely pleasant about her smile. It was very encouraging.

I pointed over to the flower hill once we left the shop. "So, I was thinking, let's go up there. I...heard it was a nice place this time of day."

She followed, bouncing along happily. I guess things in the shop had gone rather well.

"So, Sora, who did you end up having ice cream with today?"

"Lea, actually! He found out we were in town from Yuffie and came over looking for us."

She tilted her head a bit, glancing at empty space around us. "Then...where is he now?"

"Uh...he said he had something to do..."

"I see..." She suddenly sprang forward, racing towards the flower covered hill up ahead of us. "Bet you can't catch me!"

What? No way was she going to beat me in a foot race! I chased after her, laughing, taking care to stay on the dirt path between the garden plots. They took their grass maintenance very seriously in this place.

She dodged past my first attempt to touch her back and she started skipping across some stepping stones in the flower field. Instead of taking the same route, I ran around the other side, jumping towards her at the exit. She giggled, trying to duck under my right arm but I wrapped my other one around her waist, pulling her back towards me. She stumbled, bumped into me and the two of us dropped, laughing into the grass by the fountain.

I snatched the bag of dinner back and let her roll off of me. "I'm gonna eat all the good ones now!"

"You'd better not!" She stuck her tongue out at me, withdrawing it when I handed her one of the buns. She unwrapped it carefully, admiring the sunset glowing in front of us. "You are right about the sunset up here. Lea told you?"

"Yeah." I bit into one of the buns and felt that rush of content I get when I eat something super yummy.

"I always liked coming up here. Even when I was little. Way back then. It looked a lot different in those days, though."

"You remembering any more of your past?"

"Bits and pieces, sometimes. Being back makes them surface a lot easier. For example, look over there by the castle wall. Do you see that small plaza?" I followed her finger over to where she was pointing and nodded. "That was actually the place I first met Aqua."

"Whoa! Really?" I still feel bad I don't really remember meeting her as a kid. She told me about it but...I can't recall it at all.

"I don't remember too much, honestly. But I can see the shadow of her face smiling down at me, telling me that when I'm in trouble my light will lead me to someone who will keep me safe."

"When you're in trouble?"

"Mm..." Kairi nodded, leaning her back against mine. "I think that's why I came to the islands. Maybe why I was able to meet you."

I breathed out slowly. "Wow...Aqua's pretty cool, isn't she?" I glanced over my shoulder at Kairi, but she was just staring silently out over the flowers as they swayed in the evening breeze.

"Sora...um...can I ask you something kind of private?"

"Sure."

She spluttered a little, laughing. "So fast! You're not worried it's something embarrassing?"

"Uh...is it?"

She bumped against me with her back. "Can't take it back now, you already agreed. Also remember rule one! No lying!"

I threw my hands up. "I won't lie! Promise! What is it you need to know?"

She nodded with determination. "Are you...happy the way things are?"

"...huh? Of course I'm happy! Does this face look _unhappy_ to you?"

She pinched my cheek. "Not in the slightest."

"So..." I was hoping she would explain why she was asking such a straightforward question, but she just fell silent again, munching her dinner slowly. "Was that all you needed to ask? You still look like you're considering something."

"I am. I'm just not sure how to say it."

"With this." I reached out and gently pulled her chin up and down, moving her mouth. She shoved my hand off with a laugh.

"You goof, stop it! I just feel a little bad asking about this because of what happened the other day. Do you remember when I chewed Riku out about trying to spy on me with Irvine?"

"Yeah, I still think you let him off too easy."

"You think so?" She paused and fell silent again, tapping the tops of her shoes together.

I wasn't sure what she was hesitant to ask me about, but it was clear she was feeling guilty about prying into my life when she steadfastly refused to let either of us do the same. Maybe she felt hypocritical about it, but I honestly don't really care about most of that stuff. I don't really have a reason to hide anything. Well...there's maybe _one_ thing. But there's no way she's going to ask about that, right?

"Kairi, I think everybody is allowed to have different things they are comfortable sharing. So...it's okay for you to want to keep more stuff private. But I don't mind sharing, so you can ask me what you want."

She snuggled back against me and I shivered. "...I've just been thinking a lot about when we get older. Eventually the three of us might have to deal with dating, falling in love, maybe getting married, starting families...all that stuff. And who knows who we might end up with. Do you ever think about that?"

"I dunno, maybe every now and again. I mean, it's a little weird sometimes if I think about Riku getting a girlfriend or something..."

"Exactly!" Kairi sighed and played with a nearby flower with her free hand. "Did...did you ever think about what kind of person _you_ would want to be with? About...what you would do if someone asked you out?"

I nearly choked on my bun and had to swallow hard, tears springing to my eyes. She rushed to help, offering me a bottled water from the bag. I waved her off, wiping my eyes down.

She waited for me to stop coughing and apologized. "I'm sorry for prying. It's just...been on my mind lately."

I shook my head. "N-no, it's fine. I, uh..."

Well this was certainly a problem. I'm not just going to go confess that ever since I was like...six years old I was already having fantasies of holding her hand.

She gave me a little grin. "Oh, come on! I told you about my ideal guy. You can't just hold out on me!"

I tilted my head back and forth, groaning a little, trying to figure out how to put any of these thoughts into words. "Well...I don't really have anything specific thought out like you did. You know how I am about planning things."

"Hmm...I guess that's true. So if _the one_ shows up you'd probably know right away." She teased me.

"Yeah..." She really had no idea just how right she was about that.

She turned her face away for a moment, staring at a distant fountain. "Has anyone ever told you they liked you?"

I burst out laughing. "Yeah, Riku in his sleep once when he was getting over a cold and had too much medicine."

She spun back around and gave me a face. "Ugh, that doesn't count! He was saying that to everything, including to that wolf stuffed animal I made him, and to the face of the character you had on your socks at the time..."

Mr. Super Squid! But yeah, I was definitely dodging the issue. "If you mean a girl, then...I don't think so."

"You don't _think_ so?"

"I can't be sure. Riku says I miss a lot of things so maybe it happened and I didn't know."

She sighed. "That's fair, I suppose. But I'm glad."

...what? "Uh...you're glad? Why?"

I noticed she suddenly started fidgeting with her skirt, and took a huge bite of food so I had to wait for her to chew and swallow before she could answer. Maybe she was hoping I would forget about what she said, but I kept my eyes drilled into her, waiting for her to respond.

"I...it's...irrational. Maybe I'm just worried that if you get a girlfriend, then...you'd change." She sounded so...sad. Well this was definitely not the way to cheer her up!

I reached over and tickled the back of her neck. She cringed, trying to squirm away from my finger. "Kairi, I'm always going to be me. Especially today! I got a direct order to 'be myself,' didn't I?"

I stopped the tickles and let her settle back down next to me. "I suppose so."

There was a silence between us, the only noise coming from the nearby fountains creating dancing shapes with their jet streams. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against my shoulder. "You're so comfortable. If you do find a girlfriend I hope she appreciates this."

Before I could respond, she stood up and dusted off her skirt, strolling over to the edge of one of the flower fields. I grabbed another bun out of the bag and went over to join her. She turned and saw the bun I was munching on, eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the last of the honey buns are, do you?"

"Uhh..."

She snatched it out of my hands and stuffed it into her own mouth.

"Hey! I was eating that! Besides, that was..." I hesitated a little, realizing that I had already taken a bite out of it. It was like some kind of weird indirect kiss with food. Does that count as anything?

"It's mine, now!" She chewed it with a pleased look on her face. She knows how I feel when someone poaches my food! It's just not right to do that. Absolutely the lowest of the low. "That's my revenge for earlier when you surprised me."

"Oh, is it? You know what that means though, don't you?" I went stealthily over towards one of the sprinklers watering out over some of the flowers. "It's war!" I stuck my shoe into the water stream, angling it towards her.

She stumbled backwards with a laugh, blocking her face. "Really? A water fight? You picked the wrong girl to get into a water fight with!"

She reached behind her and grabbed up a whole scoop out of the fountain, tossing it at me and bolting the other way. I hastily threw my jacket over to the side over the leftover food bag to cover it and returned chase. She tried to put the fountain between us, so she could angle the jets at me, but that only left her open for me to do the same. I reached down into the water and twisted it towards her. She yelped and threw her hands up in front of her face, her magic freezing the water solid.

"Oh come on, using magic is cheating!" I complained loudly enough for her to hear.

"It's not cheating if there are no rules!"

I felt something dripping on my shoulder and looked up, just in time to see a massive magic bubble of water hovering over my head bursting, raining down on top of me. Okay, that one was _absolutely_ cheating! And if she was going to play dirty then so am I!

* * *

After only a few minutes the both of us were properly soaking wet, lying on the side of the grassy hill. The sunset was getting very low in the sky now, allowing some of the light of stars to peek through. She lay close next to me, her wet hair sticking to my arm.

"I guess you shouldn't have changed out of your swimsuit after all."

I shrugged. "Yeah...but then that wouldn't be very _fair_ , would it? Because I'm not a _cheater_."

"Yeah, sure. I remember a certain someone who had the bad habit of squirreling away all the tokens when we played Monkey Tree..."

"Monkey Tree is serious business!" I used to love that game, haven't thought about it in years. Once I get home I'm going to see if I can dig it out so we can play the ultimate rematch. But before that, I had to finish these assisting duties properly. I frowned a little when I reflected on the three rules. "...Sorry I ended up being a bad assistant today."

"Psht! Why would you say that?" She prodded me jovially in the side.

"Rule three? No fighting? I did kind of start that water battle."

"Mm...I suppose..." She pulled the rule paper back out, now a little worse for wear, and carefully tore the very bottom of it off. "Oops! Looks like I was mistaken this whole time, Sora. Only two rules. And you didn't break a single one."

I chuckled and reached up into the air, tracing lines among some of the stars standing out even brighter than before. Something was still nagging me about the conversation we had before. "Kairi, did someone ask about me? ...A girl? Is that why you brought all that stuff up earlier?"

She sat up, squeezed out some water from her hair and flicked me in the face with it. Blargh, talk about a cheap shot!

"Maybe, maybe not. That's girl-to-girl confidentiality!" She was smiling at me, but I could tell she had a little bit of sadness lingering deep in her eyes. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms again, just like before. To keep her safe and laughing like she should be. Yet even when she was sad, she was still indescribably beautiful. I felt that pull, that incredible urge to get closer to her. It was getting harder and harder to resist, the longer she looked at me...

Ignoring everything that screamed at me not to, I sat up, wrapped my arms around her and yanked her back down on top of me. She fell against my chest, gasping out in surprise. Her hand clenched my shirt and I could feel her trembling slightly. Maybe she was getting a little cold from the water now that evening was closing in.

"S-Sora...w-what are you…?"

"I just want you to know, even if I do get a girlfriend I won't ever leave you behind. Ever."

Her body felt so warm against my wet clothes. I felt her breath, soft and sweet against me. The longer we lingered like this, the more her trembling lessened as the closeness of our bodies melted the cold away.

"If only it were that simple." She turned her eyes away.

Not going to give up until I saw her smile again, I brushed one of my hands against the side of her face, releasing my grip on her back. "Hey, I'm serious! That's the one condition I know for sure: she would have to accept my friends, each and every one."

She pulled herself up off of my chest and rustled my hair, still leaning over me. "Anything else?"

"She has to like sweets!"

Kairi hummed pensively. "But if she doesn't, there will be more for you."

"Oh...good point..."

"Do you _ever_ think things through?" She scoffed, but I chose to let that little dig slide.

"I also got another one—she has to always tell me just how much cooler I am than Riku. Every day."

"Oh, but they say honesty is best in relationships, you know." She gave me a sly grin.

"Geez, way to hurt a guy..."

She gave me a loving little rap on the shoulder. "You two excel in your own areas, I'll just leave it at that."

"Nice and fair. Just like always." I sighed.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you _must_ know. Riku is more calm, and definitely better at using his head to plan things. But that doesn't mean your way of following your heart is wrong."

I laughed. "I guess so." It has certainly served me well so far, though Riku says I still need to work on my impulsiveness.

I was starting to regret bringing this up again, because her face once more was awash with agitation. I tilted my head at her, hoping she would explain.

"I wish I had that ability of yours. Sometimes I wonder what my heart is trying to tell me. It can be so hard to translate. Especially now..." She fiddled with her hands, and started idly flicking at the zipper on my jacket lying next to her on the grass.

"Just don't overthink it." I shrugged. I wished I could offer better advice, but it was almost like trying to explain to someone how to breathe. Understanding that stuff just kinda...worked out for me somehow.

She prodded me again. "Maybe...but not thinking ahead could get you into a world of trouble, you know!" I wasn't quite sure where she was going with this, but something nefarious was lurking in her eyes. "You agreed so easily to do _whatever_ I say today. I could ask you to do something crazy, like the first thing that pops into my head, and you'd have to do it. Right?"

I gave her a nervous smile and held up a hand. "Well...I can't complain about anything, so..." I tried sitting up, but she shoved me back down to the grass and leaned down, refusing to get off of me.

"You accept things way too quickly for your own good. I mean, what if I ordered you to do something _really_ weird."

Well, sure she could. But it's Kairi. What's the worst that she could do? "Is this a challenge? What _weird thing_ would you even tell me to do?"

Her eyes locked with mine and I noticed she was suddenly a lot closer than before. The fingers on her left hand brushed lightly against the side of my face. Her breath heating my nose just under hers. Everything suddenly felt so heavy and I couldn't move. It was like she was frozen only a few centimeters from me, staring unblinkingly into my eyes. My mind screamed for me to just lift my head or pull her down across that space. My heart fluttered rapidly in my chest and I gazed back.

Almost breathlessly she sighed. "Kiss me."

"Ka..." K-kiss...? W-what? I must have misheard her. There's no way she...

But she didn't move away from me. If anything, it seemed like she was only waiting for me to say it was okay. And I wanted to. I wanted to so, so badly. My hand wrapped around her upper arm, trembling. I couldn't stand this tension anymore. My pulse was racing, trying to remember all the advice I had been given, but everything in my mind was muddled and just screaming her name.

As gently as I could, I pulled her upper body towards me. My eyes slowly started to close when I felt her stiffen a little under my grip. She puffed a huge burst of air out into my face and giggled.

"You silly! You don't actually have to."

"H-huh?" Well that was humiliating. I felt a horrible twisting in my stomach and I averted my eyes, staring instead at a small damp blade of grass, struggling to shrug off the water bearing down on it. I bet my face was burning red right now. Fantastic.

She sighed and lifted herself up from me slightly, smacking herself lightly in the head. "I have no idea where that thought even came from. It was a stupid thing to joke about, I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."

I reached up and grabbed her wrist to stop her from bopping her own head. "No, I was just...surprised."

Her smile returned. "Yeah, I could tell. But I guess I should say thank you, for taking what I say so seriously. It was very kind of you to even consider it, rather than just laugh at the suggestion right away."

Ouch. I guess it didn't even cross her mind that maybe I was doing it because I wanted to. "Well, I made a promise. That's the most serious of all serious things. It doesn't matter what you ask me to do, I'd give it my best shot if I thought it would make you happy."

I think I caught sight of her blushing for a split second before she turned her head away from me to play with her hair. "You really are something else sometimes...I can't believe you're so amazingly dedicated to this. But that's why you should be more careful about accepting things in the first place!"

"Maybe, but I really do mean it! And that's not exclusive to today, either. Any time. Even if you told me to go do skateboard tricks off the top of the tram in a penguin suit."

She pursed her lips at me. "Oh come on, you shouldn't have to put up with that kind of torment. If I _ever_ get that demanding I want you to knock some sense into me."

I laughed. "I will, in the nicest way possible. But the way I see it, compared to a favor like that, just asking me to kiss you isn't so bad." More than not bad. Ugh...why was it so hard for me to just come out and say 'hey, no, actually I really do want to do that?' I still can't tell if she was only kidding or...maybe she actually did want to kiss me and chickened out at the last minute.

She hummed a little, her face still turned away from me. "...Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I ask you for another favor? A real one this time?"

I tipped my head back and forth. "So long as it doesn't have to do with trams, skateboards or penguins."

"Close your eyes." She requested softly and I complied without hesitation.

I lay there, in the dark, feeling the heat of her body, the thumping of her heart against mine as she suddenly lay down across me, hugging me tightly. In the silence, as I waited, I heard a light sniff and felt some water droplets hit my cheek. Was she...crying…?

"You're...warm."

"K-Kairi, can-" She moved to press her finger against my lips and I froze, wondering what I could do, wondering what was even happening.

After what felt like the longest pause, she lifted herself up off of me. "I'm sorry...you can open your eyes now."

I did so quickly, but only saw her sitting next to me, smiling lightly. "What...was that about?"

"I'm just...glad you're here. Glad that you're you."

I sat up and crossed my arms, feeling incredibly confused and a bit frustrated to be honest. "I know I'm not supposed to complain right now but Kairi, seriously, that was really weird. What were you doing?"

She tried to avoid my eyes. "Nothing..."

"I know you were crying. Just because my eyes are closed doesn't mean I can't tell something like that..."

"I...didn't want you to see. I know you hate seeing me cry, so..."

"That doesn't mean I want you to hide it from me!" I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, drawing her back close to me.

"I didn't want you to think it was something you did..."

I took a deep breath. All I think is that there is something going on way beyond just festival stress. "Okay, time to come clean. What has been going on in there?" I tried to give her a reassuring smile, tapping her heart.

She bit her lower lip and shrank down a bit. "So many things...but mostly I'm just petrified about all the changes I see looming over the horizon."

I pulled her into another hug. "There is a lot changing, but we'll pull through!"

She sighed into me, and I could feel her choking back another set of tears. "It's not just that...it's...I didn't want to worry you about it, but it's starting to be too much for me to handle." She paused, her fist clenching slowly. "...He's been following me. Incessantly."

I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from me slightly so I could look into her eyes. "He, who? Kairi, if someone's bothering you I'll make sure they stop."

She traced lines along the sides of her shoes. "I knew you would feel that way. That's why I just wanted to deal with it myself. But this morning I saw him outside my window and-"

"What!?" I felt burning hot anger bubbling up inside. Whoever this guy was he was _definitely_ not getting out of this without a _really_ good excuse. "Has he hurt you?"

"No! Nothing like that...I just keep noticing him following me all the time, now. He never does anything, just watches me. Every time I'm away from you two, I notice him there. And every time I try to talk to him about it he just spits out some empty threats and runs off. I can't figure out what he wants, but it's really starting to get to me. Especially because of...the way he is..."

I felt something cold in the pit of my stomach. "...it's _that guy_ , isn't it…?"

She nodded slowly, eyes still downcast. I don't know what Vanitas would want with Kairi either, but I wasn't about to let him just keep harassing her. I felt terrible for not noticing it earlier. That explains why she was so worried about me, and probably why she was acting a bit strange before. If he is targeting us, something bad could be looming just behind. It's not fair that a jerk like that, with my face...

I stood up, offering her my hand to help her to her feet. "Come sleep with me tonight."

"E-eh!?" She staggered back in surprise.

I shook the redness off my face quickly. "N-not like that! Stay at my house. He won't bother you if you're with me."

She thought about it, but slowly wilted. "I can't...he hasn't actually done anything, but I'd be worried about leaving my parents alone if he thinks I'm supposed to be there. My mom might be fiery but she can't fight like we can. I don't want to lose them..."

"Then, I'll come stay with you!"

"You can't, my mom would never-"

"She would understand! I'll just stay on the floor in the toy room, or even in the closet if that makes her feel better."

Kairi ruffled my hair. "Sora, you know that would never work. Besides, if he tries anything I can fight him off just fine. This is why I didn't want to say anything. I don't need you to be my knight, I'm just getting... emotionally overwhelmed a little."

I sagged. I wish there was more I could do for her…

The evening air was getting a lot cooler now, and I noticed she was starting to shiver a little because of our wet clothes. "Oh! Hang on a minute." I lifted up my jacket, offering it to her to put on.

"Are you sure? It will get wet..."

"Everything else is already wet, what's the harm?"

She thanked me and hung it over her shoulders, pausing and looking at the last rays of the sun. "...I suppose we should head back before it gets too late..."

"Listen, Kairi, I know you have a lot on your plate right now, so...I'm going to go visit Ven and the others at the castle. They might know what's going on. I'll take you home then head out there right away. And...I know you don't want someone guarding you but until I get back I'm going to make sure Riku keeps that guy far away."

"Sora..."

"I'm not doubting your ability to take care of yourself! I just think you deserve to have some quiet relaxing time, too! And Riku is like, the best bodyguard ever!"

She was trying really hard to give me a stern look this whole time but she completely cracked and smiled. "When you have your heart set on something it's pretty much impossible to talk you down. And I definitely don't want Riku skulking around me in the shadows all day trying to stay out of sight."

She wrapped her arm gently around mine. "I also probably shouldn't be complaining that I have someone like you who wants to keep me safe. It's a pretty high compliment."

"Sorry...I can't help it..."

"I guess it's only fair. I was trying to do the same thing in my own way. Protect you. And I'm still worried, but...we really are all stronger together." She pulled on my arm, leading me back towards the ship.

As we walked, I noticed the streets oddly empty and wondered exactly what Lea had done to shoo everyone away. Kairi noticed as well, and she scanned the area a bit in confusion. "You know, I'm a little surprised there was no one else out here tonight. It's usually quite busy..."

"Yeah...kinda weird..." I stuttered a little, catching sight of a hastily scribbled sign shoved up against the wall that read 'Super horrible, dangerous demon monster sighted. It'll eat you. Already consumed two friends of mine. Clear area until further notice.' I side stepped around to block Kairi's view of it, surprised something that crude would even work. But I guess it did, so I shouldn't really complain about it. I definitely needed to give Lea a pretty big thank you.

* * *

We made it back to the islands, both still a little damp, both still a little anxious, but for the most part I think it was just nice for us both to be with each other. I paused with her just outside her front gate. I really didn't want her to let go of me. Thankfully, Vanitas seemed to be staying far away because I couldn't sense a thing.

She rolled her fingers along my arm and sighed, biting her lip. "Well, kind sir, I appreciate the escort home...but..."

"Yeah..."

Slowly extracting herself she then started to remove my jacket from her shoulders. I stopped her. "If you don't mind, could you just keep it until I get back? I know it's stupid but maybe it'll keep you safe or something..."

She tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded. "Of course. I'll make sure it comes back smelling all nice and rosy, too!"

Even her teasing was adorable sometimes. I stood there awkwardly, not really wanting to say goodbye either. I figured after this I'll have to go run over to Riku's house and give him the news, then fly out to the castle...blargh its going to be a long night.

"...Sora?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for today, really. I don't know how you always manage to do it, but I feel so much better. Let me know right away when you come back, okay?" She waved and started heading towards her door.

I clenched my fist. I'm not just going to give up this time! There was no way I was going to leave without doing this first. I called out to her and she turned back to me immediately, a smile lingering on her face. I reached out to adjust the slightly worn hibiscus flower pin in her hair. She looked a little confused, but smiled, leaning her face a little into my hand as it lingered at the side of her face.

"Oh...than-"

Any inhibition I had melted at the sight of her face, so bright and hopeful. I closed my eyes, leaned forward, and pressed my lips against her cheek. She trembled, frozen stiff as I kissed her. It was maybe only a second or two, but I had never felt so free and warm and wonderfully, absolutely at peace. I pulled back and laughed, giving her a wave.

"Joke or no joke, you told me to, so I couldn't break my promise! No more tears tonight, okay?"

She was still staring wide-eyed back at me, stunned, but that growing smile on her face was all I needed to see. I ran straight towards Riku's house, feeling like I could fly the whole way there. Sure, I had chickened out and couldn't really go for the full thing properly, but I didn't regret a second of my choice. She was soft, sweet, with just the lightest hint of tartness. Perfect.

I cheered and spun around in circles down the road until I felt dizzy. I still don't know if today was a date or not, but it didn't matter to me one bit.


	6. Riku: Mind Games

I chucked a towel at the soggy ball of excitement beaming up at me from the floor. "Dry yourself off, already. We don't need you getting sick."

It landed across his face and he snatched it up, his smile unflinching. He also hadn't been able to sit still the entire time he has been here. I started rummaging around, hoping to find a change of clothes for him since he was apparently in too much of a hurry to stop off at home before heading off to the castle. I know he had some stuff over here, but where did it get buried?

As I dug through the drawer I heard him flop back onto the floor, laughing in an absolute giddy fit with his feet kicking around. I almost wanted to tease him, but it definitely wouldn't be right to ruin a mood this happy. Yet, as excited I was for him, I felt a little unease sitting like a rock at the bottom of my stomach. I yanked out a set of his clothes and chucked them over.

"Here. Get changed and give me some details."

Honestly, you can't just come bursting through my door, soaking, practically bouncing off the walls and proclaiming you 'finally did it' and leave it there. I have quite a few guesses, considering the context, but the water still had me a little baffled.

"What happened, you professed your love for Kairi, she rejected you and then shoved you off the dock?"

He sat back up and glanced down at his wet clothes, laughing, doing his best to ruffle his hair through the towel. "Not exactly...I don't really know where to start, though. Everything is just so...crazy."

I waited, figuring he would manage to put his thoughts together eventually. He dropped back down to the ground with a sigh.

"Riku...she was so soft...and she smelled amazing."

That awful twinge in my stomach again. "Hold on, are you saying you...did you kiss her?"

He smiled brilliantly, jumping back up to his feet and poking me in the face, on my lower cheek. "Right there!"

I swatted his arm away, scoffing. "And that's when she pushed you in the water, right?"

"No, the water is from the sprinkler fight I started." He said this so simply as if it was so obvious it didn't even need an explanation.

I shook my head, deciding not to ask. "How did she take it, then?"

He went to go sit on the bed but I quickly pulled him off, not wanting to get my blankets wet. He apologized and laughed again. "I...kinda ran away afterwards. But she was smiling!"

"I can't believe you are so excited about a childish kiss like that. You seriously ran away?"

"I don't care, it was totally worth it." He started punching triumphantly into the air. "Now they can't tease me anymore, ha!"

I doubt that. Despite his vigor, I could tell he was starting to calm down a little. Still obviously flying high but getting more comfortable about it. "Anything else happen I should know about?"

"Ah...well..." Something hesitant, serious, brushed across his features. I crossed my arms and examined him closely. It wasn't like him to get that look. Not unless…

I joined him on the floor. "Tell me."

"I need to go talk to Ven and the others. Kairi said that she's been getting followed. By...uh..."

I swore and Sora winced. I know he hates it when I do that but it just slipped out. "I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier. Roxas warned me that guy's been stalking around Twilight Town for a few weeks."

"Wha-really? Why didn't he say anything to me?"

"I think we were both hoping we wouldn't have to bother you with it. I hadn't noticed anything here so I thought it was clear. Punk must have been specifically dodging around us."

Sora fidgeted, his hands on his feet. "Um...can I ask you a favor about it?"

"Anything."

"I'm hoping Ven can let me know what's going on. But until I get back I was hoping you could, you know..."

I held up my hand and nodded wordlessly. "Nothing will happen to her, I promise you that."

He grinned, but I shot him a warning glance. "Just keep in mind, Roxas said he already spoke to them a while back. You might not learn anything too useful."

His smile faltered and he pulled the towel down off his head. "Maybe not...but they need to know."

He was definitely upset about this, and I don't blame him. "I'll let you get changed. Are you heading straight out?"

"Yeah, basically." He started struggling to pull his damp shirt off over his head, got stuck and tumbled backwards.

While he was sorting himself out, I went out to the kitchen and turned on the water kettle to make him some hot cocoa before he left. I also felt like I needed to take a breather. It was hard not to be happy for him, seeing the joy sprouting out from him over such a small thing. But this was also very bad. It meant I didn't have much time to sort things out in my head. If this was really the direction things were moving in…

I smacked my fist down hard on the counter, rattling the spoon in the mug. I'll just have to talk to him tomorrow when he gets back. I waited for the kettle to boil and poured some water into the powder, mixing it up thoroughly. He came bounding excitedly into the kitchen to see what I made. I handed it over to him and he sipped it right away, spluttering. Burned his tongue yet again.

He frowned at me. "You made it with water..."

"If you want it done differently, do it yourself."

He grumbled, blowing on the top. I know he always preferred it with milk, but it was definitely far too rich that way. The last thing I wanted was for him to have a sugar crash while he's flying. I recalled that we did still have some marshmallows in the cabinet from when he stays over and fished them out, dropping a couple into his cup to his delight. A few couldn't hurt that badly.

"I still don't get why you don't like these, either." Sora mumbled, poking at the melting sugar lump with his spoon.

I kept blowing at my mug, noting the temperature was still too hot to drink. "Texture is weird."

" _You're_ weird." He laughed, trying to sip it again but failing due to the heat. "Mind if I take this with me?" He lifted the mug up a bit, gesturing to it with his free hand.

"Nah, it's your mug anyway."

He gave it a look over. "Oh yeah, I guess it is."

As if I would have a fat chocobo mug...

"Thanks for your help, Riku. I'll be back tomorrow." He started rushing for the door as fast as one can while carrying an un-lidded beverage.

"Spoon!" I shouted after him.

He pulled it out of the mug, licked it off with a wince and threw it at me with a laugh. I ducked, letting it clatter into the sink behind me. I straightened in time to see him whip around the corner. As he disappeared, it felt like he sucked the light out of the room with him. I slumped down at the table with a sigh, prodding at the surface of my drink with my spoon listlessly. I shouldn't have bothered making some for myself. I'm definitely not in the mood for sugar.

* * *

Kairi balanced along the stone sea wall, keeping her eye focused on the boats jostling around for position out in the open water. Her sundress fluttered against the breeze and I hastily turned my head the other way, just in case.

"It's been a while since it's just been the two of us, hmm?" She smiled, and I nodded wordlessly back, listening to her sandals making a light pitter-patter on the stone.

Suddenly, the sound stopped. I lifted my eyes to see her stooped, staring down at me. "You concentrating? Worried about crossing him? I really don't think he's going to show his face today."

"He'd better not."

She giggled and prodded me. "Oh come on, lighten up grumpy head."

I just frowned at her, which for some reason only made her laugh even more. "We should have fun today! It's less than a week before the festival starts, then it's the final push the next few days so this is probably the last bit of free time we'll have." She waggled her finger at me. "And I don't intend to spend it moping around, letting the threat of a certain dark storm cloud rain on it all."

"What did you want to do, then?"

She leapt off the wall and grabbed onto my arm, dragging me forward a few steps before releasing me to do a quick spin. "Anything! Everything!"

I could tell she was also seemingly drunk on happiness like Sora was last night, bouncing with every step. In the end, he hadn't really told me very much about what happened between the two of them. But I suppose my knowing wouldn't change a thing. Those two were going to drift together no matter what. Their fates were always going to be aligned, pulling each other closer until they inevitably collided. The rate now, however, was only exponentially quickening, leaving me feeling like I was swimming hopelessly against a rip tide.

Still, it couldn't hurt to try teasing her about it a bit. "Sora told me something interesting last night."

"Hmm…? Did he now?" Kairi lightly swayed from one foot to the other, hands held together behind her back.

It seemed like she didn't want to talk about it, so I decided to make my moves carefully. "Did he really try to fight you with a sprinkler?"

"Uh-huh..." She gave a mock evil laugh. "The foolish boy! Thought he could beat me! Me! The..." She trailed off, frowning and spinning back to look at me. "What would I be called?"

"...if you were evil?"

"No, not evil!" She rolled her eyes. "Just a nickname that makes me sound powerful. I'll tell you what, let's come up with one for each other." Her eyes twinkled and made it clear that she was far too excited by this idea to let me talk her out of it.

I furrowed my brow. "Fine. I'll need some time to think."

"Fair enough! But I'd better have one soon."

We walked together along the path. Despite some previous murmurs about rain in the weather reports, the sun was definitely cooperating today. That didn't really do anything to ease the gloom I felt nipping my heels with every step. She leaned over and nudged me in the side.

"Hey Grumblebee, that face just won't do at all!"

I blinked back at her as stoically as possible. "Is that my nickname, then?"

"It wasn't going to be...but I actually really like it now that I've said it out loud."

Seriously? A bug? I remained silent and hoped my face wouldn't give away how I actually felt about it. If she knew I didn't like it she'll definitely be teasing me with it all day. There's a slim chance it might work and she'll attempt something else.

"Yep! Definitely fits you!" She cheered.

Lovely. So much for that chance.

"Hmm, so grumbles, what's going on in that head of yours? Maybe we should get your mind working on other things." She gave my forehead a playful tap and I just sighed.

"And how are we going to do that?"

She slipped through the nearby gate and made her way down the sandy hill towards the shore, dropping herself down onto the side of the dune. She patted the sand next to her and I sat down, staring out across the water. Once I was in position, she pulled her purse up to her side and rifled through it, withdrawing some threads and her current cross-stitch project. It was so far from being completed at this stage that just looking it over I had no idea what it was going to be.

"For starters, you are going to be my string assistant. It's a very important job, so be careful!"

I took the bundles of threads hesitantly. "And then what?"

She immediately chastised me, reaching over. "No, you need to hold the ends here! Like this..." She adjusted the strings in my hand, wrapping the ends around my fingers to keep them separated. As she brushed past me, I caught scent of her hair. It was nicely familiar, sweet and tart, and instantly made me a little curious about what I smelled like to her.

To me, she was very comforting. Back when I was fighting my way out of the darkness, her smell—well, Namine's specifically, was the first one that wasn't tainted with that...putrescence. Everything there in that awful place had such a pungent odor of rust, or mold, or...blood, maybe. But when I found Sora again; when I found my hope again...her scent reminds me of that time all over again.

At least this time I'm not going to make the mistake of pointing it out to her.

"There!" She leaned back, admiring her handiwork of twisted strings wrapped around my hands, rendering them completely useless. I considered telling her this wasn't exactly a practical thing to do when I'm supposed to be protecting her from potential danger but she would probably get upset with me for bringing it up again.

She flicked her head back triumphantly. "Okay, so now we get to play a little game. A thinking game. Is that alright?"

I lifted my trapped hands. "What else can I do? I'm tied up."

"Ten questions! You're guessing."

"Shouldn't I get twenty?"

"You're too good to get twenty. Ten makes it much more challenging and I can actually win." She deepened her voice slightly dramatically. "Choose your poison, Grumblebee, and we will begin!"

How can I take that seriously? "Alright. I pick animals."

She considered this a moment, nodded, and got her needle out to begin working at her cross stitch while we played. "I've got one. Ready for your first question."

"Mammal?"

"Nope!"

"Bird?"

"No..."

"Fish."

She smiled deviously. "Nooo."

"Reptile?"

"Ohh...darn, yeah. You'll probably get it now."

Okay, now that I've at least narrowed it down to a type I can ask a few more pointed questions. Let's try something a little more out of the box. "Would one be able to climb a tree?"

She wasn't expecting this question, and smiled as she pondered it. "I doubt it. That would be pretty funny to see, though."

There's no way she would pick something as simple as a turtle, but I might as well eliminate that. "...is it known for being rather slow?"

She grumbled a little, pulling at her threads. "Yeah..."

Wow, alright. "You'd need to pick a harder animal than a turtle if you want to win."

"Well, I was _trying_ to start off easy. You wanna play hardball, then let's dance!" Her eyes flashed at me. I always liked it when she got feisty; it made things interesting.

After several rounds, though, it was clear she wasn't going to win one over on me. And just restricting it to five questions would have been impossibly unfair. As we sat together, I noticed in the corner of my eye a group of travelers who were definitely new to the islands. They were pointing out a few landmarks, carrying one of those maps Selphie's crew had designed to lead tourists around. I watched carefully. This was one of the downsides of reconnecting everything. Tourists, and the slow erosion of our private, special places. We gained freedom, so it's wrong to say being connected is entirely problematic, but it does leave a certain lingering dissatisfaction in the back of my mind when I see them trampling around.

At least Selphie had designated our special island as private, at my request. I had always grown up believing it would be ours forever. Or, at least, until we decided to pass it on to others somehow. But I wasn't quite ready to let it be overrun with strangers just yet.

One of the two caught sight of us and glanced at his map, joy spreading over his features. He waved at us, nudging his companion to look. His companion grabbed a camera and quickly snapped a photo of us. Despite me trying to block my face with my arm, he probably still got me.

Kairi tutted a little and adjusted my hands back down. "I already told you to be careful. You'll mess up the threads."

I said nothing, glowering at the tourist until he shrank away. Kairi bumped me with her shoulder and waved back peacefully at them as they slowly ambled off, staring intently back at their map.

"You'll have to get used to the fact that you're at least somewhat famous. People taking your picture is naturally going to be a part of that."

"But I don't have to like it."

"True...but it would really make your fan club's day if you started participating even a little."

I hate that fan club. Always chasing me, screaming, throwing an absolute fit any time I do so much as cut my hair. Who gets that mad over a haircut? It'll grow back.

She shrugged and pulled another thread through the cloth. "You could always have some fun with it, like Sora does."

I laughed a little, thinking about all the stupid pictures he's posed for. I've been keeping a few of the better ones as potential blackmail material for when he gets older.

She hummed, her eyes picking out the small black equipment bag I had brought with me that was now resting in the sand at my feet. "It's just funny. Ironic, maybe? You have sort of embraced it as your hobby but you absolutely hate being a subject."

"There's a big difference between the two. Besides, if I'm holding a camera I'm not going to be in the picture."

She tipped her head to the side. "Sure, but it would be nice to get a good one of you sometime. Selphie's always bugging me to sneak a camera out and snap one but it doesn't feel right. Plus you know how I am with taking pictures."

To be fair, she's not too bad. "You can't be any worse than Sora. Of that whole roll of film I gave him, inexplicably two thirds of it was of a thumb."

"Or some vague green smudge." She giggled and grabbed the threads off my hands, clutching them in hers. "Can I get a photo today? Please? I've been trying to make some memory collages and it's starting to get frustrating just getting Namine to draw you in everything."

She looked at me with those begging eyes. It's almost as bad as Sora sometimes. "If I agree, what's in it for me?"

She bit her lip, concentrating. "Um..." Yeah, Sora might jump to the moon and back for a little peck on the cheek but I'm a little more complicated than that. She's gonna actually have to barter with me. "Maybe I could..."

I decided to be straightforward and set out my demands clearly. "You'll give me some clues about the festival tomorrow."

She gasped. "You _really_ want to figure it out, don't you?"

"Consider it like twenty questions. It's a puzzle I want to solve."

"Hmm...one the one hand, a nice picture. On the other...you might uncover my special secret. I don't know, doesn't seem very fair to me." She squished her mouth to the side, waiting for me to haggle with her.

"Fine. How about I give you a photography lesson first, and then..." I dug through my bag and pulled out one capsule of film. "You get whatever is on this film to take pictures, but _only_ this film."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And how many photos are on there?"

I gave her a sly smile. "Who knows? At least one, I promise that." I actually wasn't quite sure myself. Maybe not the safest bet, but I was fairly certain it was around five or so.

She kicked her legs a bit in frustration. "Ooh! You always drive such a hard bargain! I'll agree to give you one clue for every two pictures I get on there. If there's three or less you'll only get one clue. And no complaining about whatever pictures I want to take!"

Using my own gamble against me, hmm? "Alright, but to be clear, if there is only one photo I still get at least one clue." I held out the film canister and she stared at it with a bit of trepidation. "If you take this from me you accept."

"Deal!" She snatched it from my fingers. "So...how do I see how many pictures I can take?"

"Let me check." I pulled open the lid and examined the size of the roll. Hmm. Looks like it's six. One more than I was expecting, but at least an even number makes things easier for my deal with her, too. "You've got six."

She seemed pretty pleased with this. "Okay, three clues isn't too bad. I'll give them to you at the end of today. Otherwise you'll just try to find some loophole to ruin my pictures somehow."

"Hey, a deal is a deal. I'm not going to sabotage you."

She must have accepted my word because she relaxed and started eagerly eyeing my bag. "I get a free lesson first, right?"

I nodded, fishing out the camera. "What did you want to practice on? The settings really depend on the type of pictures you are trying to take."

She hesitated a little. "Practicing...won't count towards my six, right?"

"Of course not. I'm not out to trick you."

Scooping my camera happily up into her arms she glanced up and down the beach for potential subjects. "Okay, well, I want to take pictures of people."

"Not flowers?"

She paused. "Well...a picture of a flower is nice, but then you can't smell it or touch it like a real flower. I like getting pictures of people, it is a nice way to capture memories."

"Posed or action shots?"

"Um...probably more action? I don't really like posed pictures. They feel too...artificial. I'd want to remember a silly face someone is making more than a nicely framed one. Then I can remember someone as they were."

It made sense that she would feel that way, but it surprised me at how similarly we thought. "That's...exactly why I started taking pictures, actually."

"We could make a great scrap booking team! Next time I come over to your house we're going to go through your pictures!"

I hesitated. That was...a little sudden. Besides, how was I going to explain all of those subtle pictures I took of her to tease Sora with? There was nothing better than slipping some candid shot of her laughing or playing tennis into his locker cubby for him to find unexpectedly between classes and watch him have to scramble for an excuse as to why he just yelled and turned red in the middle of the hallway. I'm definitely going to have to hide that one bikini shot…

I shook my head to clear it. "I'll think about it. For now at least it's good you are interested in the same kinds of pictures. That way we don't have to change many of the settings."

Unfortunately for her, there wasn't anyone else really on the beach at the moment for her to practice on. Those two tourists had long since gone, so the only other moving subject were the sailors drifting lazily about in the water ahead of us. I pointed them out to her. "Okay, let's just practice on those boats over there. Pick your subject, and try to frame it in the view finder, here."

She searched the boats until she saw one she liked- a zippy red one with a bright yellow lightning stripe down the side. "That one should be fun to follow." She giggled. "Reminds me of Sora, a little. If he was a sailboat..."

"He'd probably enjoy being a sailboat, honestly." I scoffed. "Though with the amount of times he falls in the water I doubt the boat would be very sea-worthy."

She lowered the camera and stuck out her tongue at me. "It's not fair to make fun of him when he isn't here, you know. Does this mean you and him talk about me all the time when I'm gone?"

Honestly considering yesterday, the last time we spoke, our conversation was almost exclusively him talking about her. But she definitely doesn't need to know that. "You know how he is, just chats about whatever is on his mind, even if it's something unexpectedly weird."

She considered this for a moment. "Can I try? Um...if you had to be an inanimate object, what would you be?"

"What kind of question is that? What would _you_ be?"

"A watering can."

"Right..." I don't know how she was able to come up with such a fitting answer so quickly, but there it was. "You know I'm not good with stuff like this, you'll have to pick for me."

She hummed a bit, before clapping happily. "You'd be an umbrella." Before I could ask, she was already launching into an explanation for me. "Because it always does its best to shelter people from the cold rain, and when it's all dark and stormy you'll always be glad to have one. You're very dependable like that."

That fit...better than I expected it to. I certainly didn't feel all that dependable lately, though. If only I could field my thoughts to her without just spilling it all out. She meanwhile was sitting there giving me a look. Probably she thinks I was troubled by the compliment. While it's true I have never been too comfortable with receiving them, that's not exactly the case here. Still, better keep her off the scent for now. I nodded hesitantly, thanking her. She smiled and gave me a pat on the shoulder, that look of hers dissipating.

"Okay! Let's get started!" She stood up, lifting the view finder to try and frame the boat properly. I leaned over her shoulder to check, my hands over hers to help keep them steady. She leaned back into me, trying to give me a better view through the small window. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah..." I smiled a little to myself, wondering how jealous Sora would be if he saw me right now, basically wrapped around her. I helped her track her subject, pointing out when it would be properly framed and she tried taking the shot. Once it seemed like she had the basics solid enough, I gave her some more in depth information that I had picked up from my practice about how to set up the angle, get good contrast and other trickier factors. It helped that she was a fairly quick learner.

She checked over her trial pictures and immediately jumped at a chance to try again. She pointed over to a deep green colored one, sailing off calmly to the side. "Let's try that one this time, because it reminds me of you." She giggled and lifted up the camera, trying to frame it properly. I lowered her arm, and guided her through it again.

After this series of photos, she abruptly spun the camera around to face us. "So, how would I go about taking a picture of us like this?"

I instinctively tried to release her and back away from the camera but she death gripped my arm. "Hey! I said no complaining about my photos! I get six, and I want one with us together."

Despite her struggle against it I was able to wiggle away from her. "A picture with me holding you like that would be...inappropriate."

"Why?" She furrowed her brow, clearly upset. "Riku, you're so insecure. It's fine for you to be seen showing emotions, you know."

I think she's missing the issue. It's not my emotions that would be inappropriate. I can't even imagine how hurt Sora would be to see a picture like that of us two.

She sighed and flicked the zipper on my jacket. "Okay, okay. No hugging. But I _can_ get one with us together, right?"

"...Yeah."

Brightening, she hummed and grabbed up her purse, still holding the camera close. "So Mr. Photo Wiz, lead me somewhere with good lighting! I want my first picture of us for the scrapbook."

I took a look up at the clouds and the location of the sun. "Anywhere is fine, it just depends on the angle. Go wherever you like."

She pondered this, gently tilting her head back and forth. "Do you mind if we go to our island?"

I was actually quite glad at the suggestion. We made our way to our boats and started untying them from the dock, another group of tourists passing as we did so. I watched them cautiously but Kairi jostled me again, whispering under her breath.

"Come on, don't be rude."

I relaxed my face, trying to shift it into a neutral smile at her behest. I guess it didn't go very well, as Kairi was trying to stifle back another giggle. One of the older men in the group waved at me, waddling over with a paper clenched in his hand. "You there! We seem to be a bit turned around. Where are the docks with the boats to the citrus groves?"

I glanced down at his map. "This is the south dock, here. You need to head up the coast that way and get on the west side. That's...this part there." I prodded the correct spot with my finger. He didn't seem to understand, so I traced the path out for him again, more slowly this time.

He blinked, and pointed in the opposite direction at the library symbol. "This way here?"

I struggled to keep a bland service-like smile on my face but I could feel the corners of my lip twitching. This guy..."No. West. This way."

He laughed heartily at his mistake and patted me on the shoulder, startling me. "Thank you, young man." He gave Kairi an overly exaggerated wink as she stood there, smiling into her hand. "I'll not keep your date from you any longer young lady."

She flushed a little and stumbled back a step. "A-ah...um, that's..."

He laughed in a way I can only really describe as some mix between a chortle and a snort and ushered his group off with him, leaving us both awkwardly standing next to the boats. I sighed heavily and returned to untying mine, hoping Kairi would join me in simply pretending none of this ever happened. Thankfully she seemed a bit too flustered to tease me about anything. I finished first then reached over to help her pull her boat off its mooring.

On the way over as we paddled, I noticed she was going rather slow, glancing up at the clouds above us. I checked as well. Didn't look like a storm was coming at all. I'll make sure to get my weather reports from somewhere else next time. I let my speed drop until she drifted along next to me.

She kept her eyes fixated on the clouds, resting her oar down on her lap. "Riku? Is this a date?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. Seriously? Maybe she was just trying to mess with me. "No. Why, did you want it to be?" I bopped her oar with mine, tipping her small craft to the side.

"You're being rude again!" She furrowed her face and swatted back at my oar. "I guess I wonder if that's what people see when I'm hanging out with one of you."

"Does it matter what they think?" I dipped my oar into the water rhythmically, creating shapes with the wake.

"It's just...I'm always pestered about this. About...us, really."

"Who's bothering you?"

"Lots of people. Seems like everyone. You know my parents do. Selphie _finally_ quit pushing it on me recently, I'm not sure why..." She smiled a little and winked at me. "Probably because she wants you for herself."

Yippee. Addressing the matter at hand, though, I decided to pry further out of my own curiosity more than anything else. "What exactly are they saying?"

"Oh, just silly stuff. We'd make a great couple, you'd be such a reliable boyfriend, oh and my favorite: every princess needs her knight. Ugh, so corny."

I chuckled at the revulsion on her face. "Strange, I always took you as a pretty big romantic. That line doesn't work for you?"

"No way! But that's not exactly..." She trailed off, running her fingers through the tops of the waves that she could reach over the side. "Normally I wouldn't let it bug me. It's just lately...I've been really starting to wonder: what exactly is the difference between someone you love as a friend, and...the other kind of love? How are you supposed to know?"

"Good question." I gripped my oar tightly and continued paddling to the island. This conversation was starting to stray into dangerous territory. I definitely didn't want to say something I'd regret.

"Hey!" She followed after me with an exasperated yell, struggling to keep up.

I arrived on the island and had already tied my boat off by the time she pulled into the dock. She was still shouting at me to wait, so I finally paused at the ramp for her to finish securing her boat and catch up to me. Panting, she pulled at my arm.

"You're too fast!" I almost expected her to be angry, but she instead seemed quietly repentant. "Riku...I'm sorry if I upset you."

I shrugged. "Why would I be upset? I was being honest: it's a good question. I really don't think I'm the sort of person who can answer it for you, though. That's something each of us has to decide on our own."

"Mm...you're absolutely right. I was just hoping..." She trailed off again and I was left wondering if maybe this had something to do with what happened to her and Sora yesterday. But this really wasn't what I wanted to discuss right now.

"My advice is this: whatever happens, just don't let yourself be pressured into anything. If something feels wrong, then stop it. Sometimes you can't rely on your brain to think clearly when emotions are involved, so you just have to go on that instinct and consider everything after the fact."

"Very solid advice if I must say so." She nodded firmly then smiled, brandishing my camera. "So then, can we get started?"

"Right away, princess." I gave her as sarcastic a bow as I could manage.

I could tell she was very much regretting letting me know that phrase bothered her. "Don't you start that!"

I tipped my head noncommittally and straightened, wandering with her as she patrolled the beach, looking for her ideal photo spot. She continued scanning the beach until she spotted the waterfall, then pointed over to a place near the rock wall.

"Okay, you sit here..." I complied, while she dropped herself next to me. "I want to get the waterfall in the background, so...how should I hold it?"

I reached out to help her adjust it to the proper angle so she wouldn't end up cutting our heads off in the picture. "Okay, just click this button here when you're ready."

She leaned up against my arm and poked me with a laugh. "You need to smile, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

She gave a slow count down, then clicked the picture, checking it excitedly the minute it spit the image out. A huge smile spread across her face. "This is so nice!"

Standing, she dusted off the back of her dress and started searching for more good spots. I walked with her down along the side of the coast where some tidal pools were beginning to form at this time of day. In one, there was a rather large fish splashing around, accidentally trapped in a pool too small. It was struggling, all alone, and I bent down over him. He must have been idly swimming about, not realizing the water was steadily receding until it was far too late. Then, he could do nothing but watch as his world evaporated around him, leaving him all alone; an open target for predators and the unrelenting heat of the sun.

I've been there myself, little fish. I carefully did my best to scoop him up in my hands out of the pool. Kairi clearly noticed at this point as I struggled to run the flopping fish over to the ocean and released it back with a flop. It sped off so quickly through the water I couldn't even catch what direction it left in. Ugh, great, now my hands are all fishy.

Kairi laughed and tossed her hand towel in my direction. "Poor little guy. I'm sure he's thanking you."

"I doubt fish are that grateful."

"Well _I'm_ grateful. You're a good person and that makes me happy."

She was smiling so serenely at me, it made me feel a little embarrassed. It was just a fish...

Why am I getting so agitated? Ugh, this is seriously bad. She strolled over to where I was and peeked into the tidal pool at our feet. Her feet stumbled a bit on the uneven rocks, so without even the slightest hesitation she reached over and steadied herself on my arm, clutching it tightly. She was always unafraid to get close to me. And I found the more time I spent with her the more I wanted her to be safe, happy. And for these last few months I finally resolved her being near me wouldn't be a detriment to those things. At least...until the reappearance of that sudden thorn of a thought I couldn't pull free.

Kairi didn't spot anything in the pool, so she started leading me off towards another, using me to keep herself steady on the rocks. "I've been thinking...is it okay if I take a rain check for the other five pictures? I'd _love_ to get your photo with a bunch of other friends, too. We could take a lot at the festival."

I opened my mouth to protest, but realized that I had stupidly never put an exact time on when she needed to take the pictures by. "I guess I don't really have any right to complain, so long as I get those clues I asked for."

"Ha!" She stuck her tongue out at me and I suddenly had an incredibly strong and strange urge to pull her close to me. After all, she loves giving hugs, right? It would be so easy from here. I could even probably pass it off that I thought she was going to fall into one of the pools. She might even like it. Maybe part of her would consider again if what all those people were telling her was right. That we could be...

But...that isn't right. I couldn't. I saw his face in my minds eye and felt such a strange mix of emotions rush through my blood it gave me chills. Frustrated at myself, I pulled away from her, shoving my hands in my pockets. "If you aren't going to take any more pictures today, is there anything else you'd rather do?"

"Hmm...we could always just go swimming? I already have my suit on."

I glanced back to see her starting to hoist up her dress and I panicked, stumbling a little, almost falling right into a puddle of water. I hastily grabbed her hand to stop her from lifting the skirt of her dress up any further, probably a lot rougher than she would have liked.

"What?" She blinked at me, startled.

"I...don't have my swimsuit on me." Wow. That excuse sounded lame.

She puffed out her cheeks a little bit in frustration. "If you don't want to swim just say so. I don't mind." She dropped the sides of her dress and started walking, pulling me with her. "You know...sometimes I wish I could read you like Sora can. He picks up on so many more things."

I don't know about that. She is certainly way more perceptive about me than the average person. Most of the time she can actually decipher some of the subtleties that most people simply attribute to me being stoically unemotional. And she's one of the few people I felt could actually understand sometimes what's in my head without me having to articulate it out. It's a bit frustrating with the two of them together sometimes, when I want to keep things a secret, but ultimately it's nice to have friends that understanding.

I forced myself to look away from her and saw another figure crossing towards us on the beach. Oh, hell. It's Selphie. I bet she's going to make things _so_ much better. I retreated away, leaving the two girls to chat. I noticed Kairi pointing to my camera around her neck, then back over to me. I had better not have to take a picture alone with Selphie. Or worse, doing a stupid pose for her to raffle off like candy.

Maybe I can convince her to take some pictures of these _very interesting_ tidal pools instead. I glanced down around at a few of them, hoping to spot something different than the usual crabs and starfish. I let the girls catch up while I stared into the water, searching for something photo worthy.

I finally heard Kairi call out to me specifically and I looked up to see her waving me over with a bit of a sad look in her eye. "Hey, it looks like I might actually have to head off to practice earlier than I thought..."

"Yeah, but before that... _please_?" Selphie was begging, that's not good.

"No! I'm not wasting one of my pictures on that."

I knew it.

" _Pleaaase?_ How else am I going to get it!?"

Kairi was scolding her friend with her eyes, but Selphie didn't seem to want to back down. Finally, Kairi jabbed her finger in my direction. "If you can get him to agree, then fine, I'll do it. But you have to ask. _Directly_."

Selphie _actually_ looked a bit nervous. That was a first. I crossed my arms. "What is it?"

There was a tense silence as Selphie floundered, unable to speak. Kairi finally giggled, unable to hold it in. "She wants a picture of you without-"

"No! Don't say it!" Selphie clamped her hands down over Kairi's mouth and pulled her away back towards the dock.

Kairi hastily handed the camera back over to me as she was dragged backwards. She managed to pull her mouth out from under Selphie's hands, still giggling. "Sorry, Riku! I need to-"

"Hold on a minute, what about our deal?"

Selphie narrowed her eyes and skidded to a halt. "Oooh...what deal?"

"She's going to give me three hints about her role in the festival in exchange for all those pictures." I explained, holding up my fingers. "I've yet to get a single one."

Selphie hummed a little in understanding. "Uh-oh. With that many clues he's bound to find out. Unless you give him some really tricky ones. Better think hard, girl."

Kairi waved her friend off with a sigh. "I know, I know! Just...give me a second to think..."

"We don't have all day, Kairi. Practice starts soon!" Selphie pushed.

"Okay, okay! First clue...at the festival many of us will be taking on a certain role. This job has the same name as someone working at a hotel and also sounds like...a spooky creature."

I folded my arms and let my brain puzzle it over while she thought of her next hint. A hotel job? There's someone at the front desk for reception, house keeping, and sometimes porters...but the fact that it needs to be a 'spooky creature' narrows it down quite a bit. A ghost. A front desk host. Simple enough.

"Second clue, my role involves two things that don't normally get along. One of those two things is vaguely related to a friend I've fought with, the other is related to a friend connected to me by name."

Two things that don't get along, that are also linked to some friends of ours. She's fought a few people, so maybe it would be best to figure out the second person first. A friend connected by name. That could only really refer to Aqua, since their names are both linked to the water. And that made everything about the first half of the clue fall into place. The other friend she referred to must be Lea. Water and fire certainly don't get along too well.

"Last clue, at the festival...it isn't Halloween, buuut..." She clamped her mouth shut and shrugged teasingly at me.

Interesting. Selphie seemed content with these and started pulling her away. "You have fun puzzling it out!"

"And, Riku!" Kairi turned around and wagged a finger at me. "You'd better not follow me to practice. I'll be fine!

I gave her a half smile and waved her off. I decided I would hang around on the island thinking a bit before heading back over to the mainland shore to wait for Sora to show back up. I had a feeling he probably wouldn't be too much longer. I also had a feeling I knew what Kairi's role is going to be. I thought back to the pamphlet and smiled. Oh, so clever...

I snapped a picture of Kairi as she paddled her boat back with her friend. Might be a nice thing for her scrap book. She was far too generous with those clues. Clearly some of our friends will be playing "host". Kairi's role involves fire and water and I suppose the Halloween nod is that she'll probably be dressed up.

I have a pretty good idea as who.

* * *

Sometimes looking out at the ocean like this it must look to others like I'm completely lost to the world, oblivious to my surroundings. Quite the contrary today. That's why it was also exceedingly obvious that a certain someone was trying to tip toe up the sand behind me.

"Boo!"

I raised an unimpressed eyebrow in his direction. He sagged a little, obviously hoping for more of a reaction. At least he seemed cheerful. Probably meant good news.

He doubled checked around me, probably confirming if I was alone. "So, where's Kairi?"

"At practice. She refused company there, but Selphie is with her."

"Aw, man..." he kicked at the sand. "I really wanted to see her today..."

I didn't respond, looking back out at the waves.

"What did you end up doing, then?" He asked cheerfully.

I filled him in on a few of the details, leaving out the bit about my nickname. Definitely not something he needed to know. Though, I did realize I hadn't ever come up with one for Kairi yet. Hopefully she won't be too mad about that. Maybe I'll ask Sora's help for that later, since it'll probably take him all of thirty seconds to think of one.

Sora hummed happily, jumping backwards up onto a nearby fence railing and sitting on it. "Right, so...about the, uh, problem. It's not as bad as we thought. He's apparently been trying to get better. Ven said he's still not very open to talking about stuff, though, so it's hard to know what's on his mind."

"A bit of an understatement. I think that's all Roxas found out too, so I hope you got something else."

"They think...he's looking for forgiveness, or something similar. Almost like he wants to actually make some friends of his own. They said they'll often find him sneaking books books out of the library and hiding them in his room. It was a weird variety of titles, from trashy romance novels to philosophical debates, but it all gave the impression he was trying to read up on how people interact together. It just made me wonder what some of those books were even doing in the castle to begin with..."

Yet another way Vanitas and Sora were complete opposites. You'd never find my friend doing a late night raid on a library. "Did they know he was following Kairi?"

"No...Aqua was pretty peeved about it but she said he was probably just trying to learn about us through observation, maybe not realizing how..."

"...Unsettling he is?"

"Yeah..." Sora sighed.

"Or maybe he doesn't care. Why are they even letting him out on his own?"

"It was Ven's idea originally. He started letting him go for a bit to try and learn. He thought maybe with a bit more freedom to interact with people he could make some improvements. And he had been on really good behavior for a while. I mean, I kinda get how being a prisoner in a castle all day would make anyone resentful..."

"Right...in other words, he's trying to learn but not considering others at all in the process."

Sora laughed a bit hesitantly. "I guess he has a lot to work on."

"Yeah, well I don't like it. I just don't believe that guy is really ready to change." I dug my shoe against the sand, creating a large divot out of sheer frustration.

Sora sat there saying nothing. He had that same guilty look on his face as if the stuff that guy did was his fault somehow. I joined him up on the fence, waiting out the silence that had fallen between us.

He was the first to speak. "At least Aqua said she would keep closer tabs on him now. He shouldn't be back to the island for a while without at least one of them with him."

"Good."

"But...I did say they could bring him to the festival, if he really wanted to come."

I almost choked. "What!?"

"It's not like I want him stalking Kairi! But Riku, if he really is trying to change..."

"I know." Sora was way too kind for his own good.

He nodded contentedly. "But it's okay! Kairi should be able to relax for a while now at least. And we can work together to keep our eyes open for any more trouble."

Not that I was elated at this news with Vanitas, but it was more than I was expecting. However, now that there was some relative peace, my mind wouldn't leave me alone. Out in the ocean I saw one of the new ferries sailing past, likely bringing more tourists with it. How strange to think that we were both staring at something so innocuous yet would have absolutely changed our lives if it existed even just a few years ago. A ridiculous thing to consider, I suppose. Because even if we had left on our raft that day we would have just gone in a huge circle and ended up right back where we came from without ever finding anything. We were kind of hilariously under prepared for that journey.

So many things were different back then. So many things I always wished had gone differently. But then I wouldn't be here like this now. I stared over at my best friend, kicking his legs out into air, humming some tune to himself.

I clutched at the edge of the wood of the fence until my hands burned. That...burning aching guilt. I feel sick. Why couldn't I have ever worked up the courage to just ask way back when I could have had a chance? It was almost too late now and these feelings were just so...misplaced and wrong. Was I just pretending to be supportive the whole time?

"Riku...are you mad about something?"

Oh, hell.

Still sitting on the fence, he had twisted to watch me intently, clearly concerned.

I cast my eyes down at the sand. "Just...thinking something unpleasant."

He sighed. "Is it about him?"

"No." I couldn't lie about this. He'd pick it out right away.

His frown only deepened. "Is it the thing that's been bothering you the last few weeks? You always try to do so much alone... Look, I know I said I would wait for you to be ready to tell me but I changed my mind. It's not good for you to keep something bad locked up too long. I'm not leaving your side until you tell me! I'll wait all night if I have to!"

Those earnest eyes of his, I swear, it makes the guilt so, so much worse. "Sora, what if...what if things didn't work out between you and Kairi."

He blinked back at me. "...Huh?"

"For example, what if today while you were away she met someone she liked, and the two of them decided to start dating. What would you say?"

Yeah, he clearly wasn't expecting that question.

"I-I don't know...I..."

"Just tell me. What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you think about that."

"I...it's not really a thing in my head. More like a feeling. A lot of feelings. Most of them...not good."

"Exactly. That's why I've been troubled."

His face had faded to an almost ashen pallor. "Are you worried that Kairi is going to date someone?"

"Not exactly...but maybe."

Alarm spread across his face and he shakily stood up, spinning towards me. "D-did you hear something? Was it something she said? Or maybe someone told you-"

"Relax. None of the above. I just wanted to establish that it is entirely a possibility. She is really popular and not every guy that asks her out is a scum bag. You might...have more competition than you realized. And if that's the case...I don't want it to completely break you."

"How am I supposed to relax when you say stuff like that..." He groaned, slumping down to the ground, back bumping against the post.

"You're right. I'm sorry I brought it up."

He shook his head. "No! No...Riku, I was the one who kept pressuring you to talk about it. Is that really what you were thinking about?"

"Some of it." Just looking at the pain on his face. Even with a hypothetical situation, just the thought of not being with Kairi really cut into him. This is so messed up...

"But you're right, I really can't just wait around for forever and assume things will just fall into place." He jumped up, excitedly clenching his fists. "That's why I have a plan! I came up with it today!"

"Did you?"

"Yeah. I'm definitely going to tell her how I feel at the festival. I've also been preparing something really special I'm going to give her."

My stomach dropped. "Look at you finally taking charge."

"Yeah, but...I also wanted to apologize."

As if he did anything wrong..."Okay, for what?"

"You were so worried about my future you were making yourself sick!" He sagged, putting an arm on my shoulder. "How can I not apologize for that? Do you think you'll feel any better now?"

"I might have to wait and see how the festival turns out."

Sora nudged me with his elbow. "You think I'm gonna chicken out again, don't you?"

"Well your record is pretty abysmal so far." I jostled him back. To be honest, I'm not worried about him getting cold feet, I'm more worried about what mess I'm going to inevitably be creating for myself. I hope we can still have moments like this, that I can still have him by my side if I...

"Hey, I'm super motivated now! That one kiss was definitely not enough." He paused. "The one thing I'm nervous about is what Kairi is up to. Maybe she'll be too busy the whole time to listen to what I have to say..."

I scoffed at him. The _one_ thing he's worried about? Sure, okay. "I'm sure she'll make time if you ask for it."

Sora grinned from ear to ear. "Great! But...after this is all finished, I'll make it up to you. I promise three times over!"

He lifted himself up off the ground and ran down the dune in front of us, charging through the sand with a laugh. He tripped near the bottom, but just rolled through it, shaking the sand merrily out of his hair. If Sora was going to go through with his plan at the festival, that meant I would have to act before then.

I'm such a coward and a liar. My heart is just more confused than ever. If only I could get confirmation...just to end this.

...I feel so sick.


	7. Kairi: A Dangerous Path

One day before the festival. One more day and everything should go back to the way it was before, I'm sure of it. I dug my feet into the light gravel, coming to a slow halt.

I really don't know why I'm here. Practice is over, I've done all I can save get a good nights rest, but for some reason my feet just don't want to propel me home; they opted to plop me down on this swing set instead. The chains of my swing creaked from being thoroughly loved over the years. I wonder how many children in the past sat here, playing in this tiny little park. The adventures they would have shared together without ever even leaving the sandbox. Where would all those children be now? And how many still treasured that warm childhood bond they forged in this place? Time pushes us forward, and memories of simple days in the park long ago are just one of many infinitely small grains of sand in the hourglass of our life. But no matter how small those grains are, they are still necessary, and will always be part of who we are. Yet sometimes I almost wish we could go back to that time. Back before anything was complicated, when we could just lay all night together under the stars in a makeshift tent held up by string.

Those same stars glittered down over me, but they offered so little comfort that I felt lonelier than ever sitting in that tiny little chair. Why did it feel like there was always something hovering between us, always left unsaid? He is always so open and honest with me, it feels like I want to do the same, but I can't put a single fragment of these thoughts into words.

I shoved the same gravel pile back and forth between my shoes, feeling my nostalgia bubble into a growing frustration with myself. I just kept making the same mistakes over and over again. I can't believe he hasn't gotten more fed up with the way I've been behaving. I wish I knew why those bothersome intrusive thoughts keep popping up when I'm around him. I've almost been afraid to be alone with him this entire week just in case I did something embarrassing again.

"There you are!" I heard his all-too familiar cheery call and spotted him approaching, school bag hanging loosely over one shoulder.

Sora…

Just seeing him made all my apprehension melt away.

He dropped his bag down into the gravel, taking a seat on the other swing next to me. "You should have told me when your practice was over, I was sitting around waiting forever for you!"

Probably anyone would have been a little fed up, but he looked so positively glowing with happiness at having finally found me that I felt really guilty for slipping out without checking that he hadn't already gone home first.

"I'm sorry...I had no much going through my head, I..."

He waved off my apology with a laugh. "Hey, don't worry about it, I found you, didn't I?" His smile was so utterly contagious.

The chain of my swing squeaked again and he glanced up at it, his eyes then making a quick sweep of the playground. "So...uh, why are you here?" He grinned. "Don't tell me you've just realized your dream to be a swing set inspector!"

I laid a hand dramatically over my chest and sighed towards the sky. "It's my secret shame! And now that you've found me out I must run away and start a new life the next town over!"

Sora leapt up off his swing and stood right in front of me, wrapping his hands around the chains just above my head. "If you're running away you'll have to take me with you!"

I prodded his shoe with mine. "But that would defeat the purpose of hiding from you, wouldn't it?"

"But..." I could see him struggling with his answer. Whenever it looked like he started to say what he wanted, he would catch himself and fall silent again.

After a moment I had just about enough watching him struggle, and I flashed him a smile. "Okay, you win. You can run away with me."

I stood up from the swing while he was still leaning over it, putting myself just centimeters away from him. Startled, he released the chains and stumbled backwards, his heel catching on the edge of my book bag, sending him thumping to the ground. I rested my hands on my hips, staring down at him with a sigh.

"But only because you are _so_ eloquent and graceful."

He laughed in that sweet, hesitant way of his when he knows he did something silly, rubbing at the back of his head. I offered him a hand to help him stand up, glad that he hadn't accidentally hurt himself. As he lifted himself up off the ground I saw his eyes spot something down just near my feet and I checked to see what it could be.

Oh, just one of my books spilled out from the bag after he tripped on it. He opted to retrieve it for me, dusting it from gravel and handing it over as he stood, but not before checking the title on the spine.

" _Tales of Princess Sakuya_? What class is that book for?"

"It's not...um..." Oh how lovely, of course fate had to deign for _that_ book to fall out of my bag. Thank goodness Riku isn't here right now. "It's the legends about the Volcano Goddess. I...thought it would be fun to read up about the mythology surrounding her before the festival, since it is supposed to be in her honor."

"Oh..." Well, he looked half convinced anyway.

I stuffed the book back into my bag and glanced around the small park in hopes that I could find something else to talk about, just to draw his attention away from thinking about it. "Anyway, um...I just came here to sit down and relax for a while since tomorrow is bound to be pretty crazy, so...I should probably be getting back home soon."

He couldn't hide the disappointment on his face. "Can I walk you at least?"

How could I say no to a face like that? I nodded and he scrambled to grab his bag back from over by the swing where he left it. I started to make my way back to the path, but each step I took felt heavier and heavier until I stopped in my tracks altogether. Sora, bless him, was just waiting patiently for me, not saying a word about my sluggish pace.

What a funny thing, for that book to fall out of my bag. The stories in it reminded me so much of all the questions swimming around unrestrained in my mind. It's probably where they came from. And I felt such a nagging desire to just _stay here_. Stay with him.

"Sora, do you know much about her story?" I turned back to face him and waited for him to connect the dots about what I was referring to.

"The Volcano Princess? Not really...I mean, I remember the basics from first grade when we had to draw pictures of what we thought she looked like."

I smiled to myself, remembering his...artistic brilliance. If I recall correctly, he had drawn her with marshmallow sticks jutting out from her hair so she could roast them at her leisure over the lava, or so he reasoned. But his drawing was so...scratchy it instead looked like she was being attacked by obsessive-compulsive aliens with incredibly square space ships.

Rather than continue leaving the park, I let myself stroll over towards the jungle gym structure and sat down on the bottom ledge. I'm sure to a child it would be a task to climb up to it, but it only came up slightly higher than my waist. Sora followed, not even questioning why we were continuing to stay. He was probably just enjoying the company. He's always been that way: being around his friends gives him endless energy. And I wanted to linger here. I still don't know why, but I know that I wanted to.

He leaned up against the same ledge, looking up at the stars peeking through the clouds.

"It's...actually quite a sad story, in a way. I was surprised." I broke the brief silence, kicking my legs around freely, taking care not to bump him.

"Sad? I thought it was supposed to be a love story!" He groaned. "Don't tell me it was all a lie and everybody dies in the end or something horrible. I hate that!"

I stuffed my hands under my knees. "No, no, it's not like that, don't worry."

He breathed out a big sigh of relief and half turned a bit to face me. "So...why is it sad, then?"

"First maybe you should tell me what you remember." I wasn't keen on telling him the whole story.

"Oh, geez." He winced a little. "Uh...she was a Volcano Princess? And...she fell in love with some guy, and made our island."

"Well that's...not wrong." It certainly left quite a few details out, though. I guess I had to explain much more than I thought.

I settled in, ready to try and summarize things as simply as possible. The legend really was quite romantic, but still poignantly sad when all things were considered. It did make me wonder how much of it was based off of reality and how much was just a story. One never really can tell with fairy tales, sometimes.

"Her full name was Princess Konohana Sakuya, daughter to the god of all the mountains of the world, sister to the ocean spirit, and of the spirit of the tallest reaching palm trees. Her family loved her so much because she so resembled their mother who had died in childbirth. It is so rare for a goddess to die, but I suppose it can happen in some cases. Her father kept her hidden away from the world to protect her, and she loved her family, but found ways to sneak up to the human world. One day, while walking along a beach she found a human sailor who had drifted ashore after his boat had been destroyed in a storm. She secretly helped nurse him to health, making friends with him the whole time. Eventually, the two fell in love. But her father was so angry when he discovered this, he refused to let her be with him, let alone marry. For he said if she did so much as kiss a human, she will bear a terrible curse. One kiss would rob her of her future and her past. She would be cast adrift in the ocean, forgotten by the other gods, forgotten by her friends and family, surely to drown. But, believing in her love, she kissed him anyway."

I was surprised that this seemed to hold Sora's attention so well. Normally he disliked long stories. Maybe he was just humoring me, but he was listening quite closely, so I continued. "She was then cast out to the ocean, no longer a goddess, no longer remembered. With her last remaining power she created our island from a powerful volcanic eruption, so that the two of them would not drown in the endless ocean. However, because she lost her goddess powers, the volcano subsequently became dormant, never to erupt again. We might think this is good, but the death of the volcano, meant the death of her godly immortality. They say she gave up everything for love, and as a result we have our home here to cherish forever. She is remembered fondly, for her willingness to accept a life as fleeting as a blooming flower."

I could tell Sora was a little upset. "Aw...you said no one was supposed to die."

"She doesn't die right away! There are quite a few smaller stories about things she does on the islands after they were formed. So even in the legends she was around for at least another ten years or so."

"That's still too short. She gave up everything to be with that guy, the two of them deserved to have a long happy life together." He crossed his arms in frustration. "That's definitely how I'm choosing to believe it happened."

"Yeah, she did give up everything..." I slowed the kicking in my legs, withdrawing my hands from underneath, placing them instead on my lap. "When I think about her story, there are three things I always take away from it. I see that love is an incredible force that can even make islands rise up from the sea, and that human life is a fragile, fleeting thing so we should cherish every moment we have with those we love. But the last message...frightens me a little."

Sora jumped up backwards to join me on the ledge. It was a bit snug with both of us sitting on it, since it was designed for children, but I appreciated having his warmth next to me. "What's frightening about it?"

"Her story almost seems to suggest that...part of growing up and making your way in the world might mean being forced to leave your past behind. The memories would still be there, but all your family and friends might not be..."

I felt Sora tense next to me. "Is that why you came here? To think about the past and stuff?"

"Maybe. I don't really know." I looked over at the swings, hanging empty in the air, swaying lightly on the wind as if they were dreaming of their next young passenger. "I know we can't stay young forever. But how much of this are we really meant to lose?"

Sora abruptly turned, his face twisted in a silly expression that made me snort. "It's not like one day you wake up and _poof_ there goes your childhood. You keep it with you in here." He tapped his chest with a confident smile.

I knew he would say something like that. I also knew he was right. So...why did my mind keep coming back to this, over and over? There must be something I'm missing. Something that is making me feel like he's going to be pulled away from me. Unless I...unless I do, _what_?

He was watching me with a face so concerned I felt like I had to say something to ease his mind. "Well, I guess then all I have to watch out for is a mysteriously handsome ocean boy to unexpectedly drop into my life, sweep me off my feet and carry me off onto adventures unknown."

Sora burst out laughing."Yeah? Like in the story? You say it like it's a bad thing, but I have a feeling you might actually really like that."

I huffed at him, knocking into him with my shoulder. "Well! I'd like to think I have some higher standards than just a pretty face."

He bumped me back. "Yeah but maybe he has some magical kiss powers that can hypnotize you to want to stay with him forever."

"Oh come on, like a kiss can really be all _that_ great." I rolled my eyes at him.

"How do you know, have you ever tried it?" Sora was obviously trying to tease me to get me in a better mood, so I decided to mess with him a little.

"Mm, yeah I have, but it wasn't too special."

His face was absolutely priceless. He looked like he had been smacked with a wet sponge and wasn't sure how to even process it yet. "W-wait are you serious? You have?"

"All the time. I even kissed him this morning when I got up." I kept my voice light and as sing-songy as possible.

He looked dizzy. "When you...this m-morn...a-all the time?"

Okay, that was far enough. He was starting to look really distressed now, probably thinking I had some whole secret life I never told him about. "That's what all those snugly stuffed animals are for, aren't they?"

He pulled a sour face and jumped on me, tickling my sides. "You sneaky liar!"

I wiggled my way out of his arms, jumping back down to the gravel below us. "I didn't lie! Just...misrepresented the truth a little."

"That's the same thing!" He chased after me, immediately starting to reach for that vulnerable spot of mine just under my left arm.

I dodged around one of the nearby poles, doing my best to keep it between us so he couldn't entangle me in a tickle hold. We darted past each other back and forth across the playground, kicking up dust as we ran, his fingers struggling to nip me where he knew I was sensitive. Unfortunately for him, I knew all of his secret little spots as well, like that tiny place just behind his ear.

I leapt towards him, going suddenly on the offensive and throwing him off balance. He gripped both of my wrists, trying to keep them away from his body. Of course fending me off meant that he couldn't attack me back. Just as I planned. It was obvious he could easily overpower me if he really wanted to, so I really appreciated at least being given a fighting chance. I managed to wiggle my finger close enough to gently brush against the side of his neck and he shivered, ducking a bit away from me, just out of reach. I knew he was just about ready to retaliate now, so I hastily yanked my arms free and turned to run again.

I felt my foot catch on something and the world started plummeting towards my face. It wasn't until I felt his arms around me, holding me steady that I realized I had almost fallen flat on my face like a dummy. He helped me up, tickle fight temporarily forgotten while he checked to see that I was alright. I noticed his arm still tightly clutching around my waist but I really didn't mind. In fact, the way he was holding my other hand we were almost in the perfect waltzing position.

Just as he released his arm from my waist, I did a swift little curtsy and placed his hand back where it came from. "Why sir, I do apologize for that little tumble. May I thank you by offering you this dance?"

" _Sir?_ " He said indignantly, but his smile brightened and he swung me around in a half-circle. "Sure, I'll dance with you, but don't expect me to be any good."

It's not like I knew what I was doing, either. There wasn't any music to use for a tempo, so we ended up just mostly spinning around each other, creating dragging lines in the sand. And as we played our silly game under that starlight I finally felt warm again. I love the way his eyes are smiling so earnest and blue back at me. I love the gentle yet firm way his hands are supporting my body. I…

I love…

My back lightly bumped the edge of one of the swing set support beams and he stopped spinning me, his body pressed oh so lightly against mine. I wanted to bury my face in his chest and stay here all night.

It was suddenly so much harder to breathe. Maybe I need to practice dancing more if just doing that little bit has gotten me so winded. But...I didn't feel tired at all. I felt more alive and awake than ever. And yet that lingering poignant sadness still remained, as I heard the light squeaking of the swings, sitting empty, behind me.

I stared up at those remarkably kind and unflinching eyes of his. "Does...falling in love always mean we have to change and leave our past behind? If so, I'm not sure I..."

"No way! If that does happen we both know you're far too stubborn to let go of me forever."

I leaned back up against the pole, pulling him closer against me. "You're pretty stubborn yourself. I bet even if I tried to run away you'd never stop searching until you found me again."

"I'd follow you anywhere." He said this quite seriously, but had a lingering smile on his lips. Ha! I bet he came up with that line twenty minutes ago when we were on the swing set and is _oh so_ pleased he can finally crank it out now! "Unless...you didn't want me to."

I gave him a look to suggest he was being absolutely ridiculous and he laughed again. There was something so...warmly natural about having his body so close to mine. With anyone else it would probably be incredibly uncomfortable, but with him…

With him I only wanted more.

That same intrusive thought kept flashing through my mind and I tried so hard to swallow it back. That voice in my head was soft, yet insistent and demanding. I had almost been swept up in the thought of it at least once before. Together when we clutched each other, wet and shivering by that fountain that was all I really wanted him to do.

Why did I keep thinking about that time? About when he pressed his lips to my cheek later that night, so sweetly and yet so full of unbridled joy it felt like I was holding a cup filled with sunbeams as it bubbled over into my hands. I wanted to feel that way again.

I know he was joking back then, but maybe he was right. Maybe kisses really were dangerously magical things and I had already strayed too far down a dangerous path with him. But I can't help but wonder if maybe deep down inside I feel that I want my first kiss from someone like him, someone who makes me feel so safe, someone who will always be special, because no matter what changes come in the future I know someone like that will stand by me. Is that why my mind kept ordering me to make that move? To jump into his arms and press my lips against his?

But...surely I must only be thinking of it because I've been so insecure about the future lately. That must be all it is. He's such a sweetheart he would do anything if he thought it would help me. And that's exactly why I can't joke about that sort of stuff for a while or I might slip up again and ask him to…

He leaned in a bit closer to me, his right hand sliding up slightly to grab onto my shoulder while his other arm squeezed at my side. I suppose he's wondering why I've fallen so silent. He tilted his face cheerily down towards mine.

"Hey, I'm really looking forward to seeing your...whatever it is, tomorrow. But once it's all over with let's go somewhere nice and relaxing, okay? You pick! Anywhere you want for as long as you want—I'm sure we can make up some excuse that sounds reasonable."

I giggled and ran my hand through his hair, loving the way it always bounced back under my fingers. "Sora, I'm not going to ditch school to go on a vacation. Can you imagine the make up work we'd have to do?"

"Ugh, it's not fair. If we're out helping people the least we should get for a reward is being excused from homework."

It was definitely a big point of contention for him and I'd heard this rant many times over. But I didn't care if I'd heard it one hundred times before, I just wanted him to stay like this, smiling right in front of me, his voice so lively and excited.

And I wanted to ask him. But it would be such a huge favor to ask. Too much, I'd think. But even as my thoughts tried to convince me against it, my inhibitions just...melted when I saw that smile.

"Sora, do you...do you ever wonder what a kiss would be like? A...real one? Do you really think it could be as powerful as they say it is in all those fairy tales?"

He choked and swallowed hard, clearly not expecting the question. I saw him avert his eyes a little and felt increasingly guilty for having brought it up again. Thankfully, after a moment his smile returned. "I don't really think it's the _kiss_ exactly. More the love between the two people, don't you think?"

It certainly sounded right, but I was still strangely hesitant to let this subject drop. "But maybe...maybe it couldn't hurt to..." Everything inside of me was shouting in conflict. Half of me wanted to continue, the other half begging me to shut my mouth. But the words just kept spilling out. "If only as a test...to know for sure...w-would you consider..."

I'm sure he could probably hear how loud my heart was from where he was standing. I don't even know if he quite understood what I was asking of him, but maybe that's for the bes-

"Mm, okay."

S-so fast! He really does need to think more carefully before agreeing to everything!

But...he is serious, isn't he? His face was so full of light he was positively glowing and I didn't feel a single hint of hesitation with his answer. I almost wanted to splutter out that I was just kidding, that I didn't know what I was saying just like last time, but...that really would be a lie, wouldn't it? After all, it's Sora. He will always be himself. No matter what darkness pulls at him. No matter what the future holds he's always going to be there, smiling cheerfully towards me. And I want him there. At my side…

Everything felt so warm. My face, my body, his touch against me. The hand on my shoulder brushed the side of my face, gently lifting it up so he could see my eyes. They locked onto his immediately, and I felt shivers along my whole body. Was this...wrong?

"Sora, I...I'm sorry I keep asking you such..."

But his bright expression was all I needed to lose my fear completely. I smiled up at him, amiss to find I was absolutely rooted in place, unable to lift myself up to my toes to cross that space between us. I think he understood my struggle, because he was hovering the smallest distance away from me too, not moving away but not moving any closer.

Perhaps...if I close my eyes…and wait for him to...

Nothing happened.

Nothing, and then his warmth was gone, his hands abruptly dropped from around me. I opened my eyes to see him no longer gazing into mine, but instead focused on the path just to his right. What could have made him stop so suddenly? I looked over, trying to find what he was staring at.

Oh...

Someone was coming up the hill towards the park. And not just any someone. Trudging along apprehensively was Ophelia, the one I had given explicit advice on how to win Sora over. I hastily ducked under Sora's arm and rushed towards her, hoping to be some sort form of interception.

"O-Ophelia! What are you doing out here so late?" I immediately felt a horrible twinge in my stomach. Why was I trying to stop her from reaching him? What purpose would that even serve other than to just be needlessly cruel?

She glanced up past my shoulder, probably checking to confirm that Sora was with me. "I...um..." She lowered her voice to barely a whisper so only I could hear. "I really wanted to talk to him before the festival, to ask him out, you know? And someone said they saw him coming up this way...I'm so relieved I actually found him! Do you...do you think I could borrow him for a minute? You weren't discussing anything too important, were you?"

My voice caught in my throat and I could only do my best to choke it back down. I wanted to tell her that maybe now isn't the best time. That we really were discussing something very important, top secret even. But she doesn't deserve being lied to like that. After all...I don't even know what I was thinking back there with him. I should have never said any of that to him and put him into such an awkward position again. Maybe her coming here and breaking me out of my stupor was really for the best. I could have almost made a huge mistake.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "No, it's...it's fine."

She prodded her shoe into the sandy dirt. "I thought a lot about what you said and I think I decided he's the sort of person who likes experiences more than presents. So...I was going to see if he wanted to do a little fun mini date at the festival."

"Th-that sounds...mm, I'm sure he'd appreciate that." That horrible pain again. Go away, already! "But he might already have plans with a lot of our friends who are coming to visit..."

"That's okay! I figured he would be pretty busy, but I'll just be happy to get a few minutes of his time."

She really does care about him, doesn't she? Maybe this all really is for the best…

It's not right for me to be meddling with his love life, after all. He needs to make his own choices. I turned back to see him, waiting with a confused look next to that old swing set. He noticed Ophelia eyeing him and he waved back cheerily, calling out to the two of us.

"Hi! Are you a friend of Kairi's!? Nice to meet you!" I smiled at that silly bouncing wave of his. He's always been so friendly. Maybe too friendly, today...

I could tell Ophelia was incredibly nervous, as she started visibly trembling next to me. I laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and kept my voice low. "Everything will be fine."

I hope those words do her more good than it's doing for me right now. I still have this horrible knot twisting around inside of me. And subsequently this growing realization that this is not my place to be any more.

Ophelia swallowed a deep gulp of air and walked over towards the swing set, giving Sora a very meek bow. "H-hi."

He tipped his head back and forth, probably trying to piece together where he had seen her before. "You're...not from C class, are you?"

"N-no. I do Ikebana with Kairi every other week..."

"Oh!" He laughed and gave her a quick head nod in greeting. "I'm Sora, always glad to meet another one of Kairi's friends. Uh...sorry, I don't know if I caught your name though. What was it, again?"

"O-Ophelia..." She had the most hopeful, genuine smile that I've ever seen on her.

I focused back on Sora and gave him as warm a wave as I could manage. "Sora, I…I really should be going now, so..."

His smile dissipated instantly. "H-huh? But I was going to walk y-" He started taking a few steps but I stumbled away from the two of them.

I swung my hands back behind my back and gave him a gentle smile. "It'll be fine, really. No need to trouble yourself. I'm sure Ophelia would appreciate a safe escort, though."

She positively beamed. Sora lifted his hand towards me, and I could tell there was a lot hidden behind his face that he wanted to say. I felt guilty just dropping out on him so suddenly. But everything I've done tonight was littered with careless mistakes. What in the world was I _thinking_? Sora and I...we're not supposed to be...

Ophelia is a good girl. I'm sure things will go really well for them. I excused myself as fast as possible with another wave and rushed over the hill before he would have the time to extract himself out of his situation to chase after me.

I keep pushing him into the most uncomfortable places ever because I can't stop my mouth from saying such bizarre things and he's trying to be a good friend. Once the festival is over I can apologize to him properly. I won't be as stressed, so everything should go back to normal.

The heaviness in my feet returned, as I forced them to press onward, thudding against the hard ground. I realized far too late that I had left my bag lying down somewhere in the park, but it would be far too awkward to go back and retrieve it now. Maybe Sora will spot it and rescue it for me. If not...I suppose it wasn't likely to be...stolen…

Stolen...

I felt such horrible dread sweeping across me, my feet tripping across the ground. Sora was going to fall in love. He was going to experience all that wonderful sweetness of companionship that I'd only been able to dream of, and read of in my childhood stories. We shared everything together; our memories, our food, I even sometimes grabbed up clothing of his to wear when it looked cute or warm. But this would be maybe the first thing we simply couldn't share together. Because, he would have her...

This frustration in me is so muddled, so wrong. I wanted to scream and cry and run straight into the ocean. Anything to make this clenching inside me go away. I started to run, a desperate uncontrolled run, my breath pouring out in gasps. With each breath my throat tightened even further, but I kept running.

He deserves so much. He deserves everything. I should be so happy if he ends up finding love out there.

But I...I always wanted to be…


	8. Sora: Girls

"I don't understand her..." I slumped backwards into the pile of pillows, my movement disturbing the slumber of Riku's faded old whale stuffed animal and it flopped down onto my face. I groaned, just leaving it sitting on top of me for a minute.

Why did she run off like that? I've never seen her look so genuinely upset before. I've made a huge mistake, haven't I? Ugh! Stupid, stupid stupid! She must have obviously been joking around with me again and then like an idiot I just flat out agreed like 'okay sure, let's kiss, why not!?'. _Why_ do these things always slip out, _why_!? I never should have said anything…

But if she didn't want to kiss me, then why did she close her eyes? Could she possibly have been mad...because I didn't? Because I panicked and started second guessing everything? If so, that means...

Aargh, this is the _worst_!

"You know, you're kind of adorable when you're freaking out about this stuff. Adorable in a pathetic way."

I yanked his whale off my face and glared, chucking the nearest pillow under my hand at Riku's stupid face as hard as I could. He deflected it with his arm and hurled it back.

"Stop throwing things in my room, I don't want you breaking another lamp again." He scolded me, like an absolute hypocrite considering he just returned fire.

He took his seat back on his desk chair, leaning backwards against the table, his eyes observing me closely. I would have snapped back a retort, but I just didn't have the energy for it right now.

I let my arm droop to my side with a sigh. "It's just not fair..."

"Hey, it's my room, I can make up whatever rules I want."

I kicked both my legs out in frustration. "I don't care about the pillows, Riku! It's _her_ , I don't know what to do about _her_!"

He remained on his chair, staring down at me with enviable calmness. "I know. I'm just purposefully being facetious because, like always, you're caught up on the wrong thing."

Is there something I'm missing here? What else should I possibly need to focus on? After another quick rundown through my brain of the events earlier, I still couldn't figure out what he was talking about. I just...can't stop focusing on that look on her face, that poignant sorrow when she turned away from me, ' _I'll be fine...no need to trouble yourself.'_ Ugh, that face was the worst! It was like someone just told her the garden at the clubhouse was mowed down by a disgruntled neighbor with a vendetta against rose bushes.

"I give up. What is it?"

He drummed his fingers along the desk. "You said someone from the flower club came to talk to you just before she left, right?"

I nodded, recalling how nervous that girl had been. She said 'um' more than anyone I've ever met before, but she seemed nice enough. Maybe reminded me of Namine the slightest bit. "Kairi went over and said something to her, then shouted out a quick goodbye and stormed off before I could really get a word in edgewise."

"What did the girl want to talk to you about?"

"I don't know! She was asking about random stuff, like if those interviews we gave to the paper were true, and what I thought about this and that. Random stuff." I don't really remember a whole lot of the conversation, I was so preoccupied about Kairi that I was maybe only paying half attention.

"Uh-huh..." Riku pressed further, and I frowned.

"That's all, really. Then she asked if I could help her out with a favor tomorrow morning because she needs to set out all the flowers up on stage and couldn't do it alone."

I didn't like the expression Riku gave me, some mix of exasperated frustration. "Let me guess, you said you would?"

"Well, yeah. Why not? She seems like the sort of person who would have trouble asking for help so I didn't want to leave her in a bad situation if I could do something about it." I wish he would stop looking at me like that. I don't understand what any of that has to do with Kairi getting upset.

Riku marched over to me, pushing a fist down onto my head. "It's just like you to bumble your way into a trap like that."

...Trap? Why is it that me doing favors for people always ends up being some kind of trap? Riku pushed down a bit harder with his hand. "Just...make sure you actually come clean about everything to her tomorrow. If you don't, things are likely going to get even more messy and entangled than they already are."

Looking at him so close to me now, I realized his face was a lot...paler than usual. Putting all the tumbling worries in my head aside, I sat up and clutched his wrist before he could withdraw it. I furrowed my brow, trying to concentrate on the temperature of his skin. I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly, but Kairi told me that if Riku ever looks...suspiciously off, make sure to check if his wrists feel weirdly hot or cold. Since he never would admit outright if he was feeling sick to either of us, we had a to get a little sneaky sometimes just to check. I suppose the idea was to do this more covertly, but I'm a bit too worried to bother myself with that part right now.

"Sora, mind telling me what you are doing?" Riku tried to extract his wrist from my clutches, but I firmly held on, double checking to make sure I hadn't missed something. He definitely didn't feel the wrong temperature, but his face still looked so…

"Are you feeling okay?"

I finally released his arm and he turned away. "Just...uneasy, like I said before." He rested his own fingers over the spot I had been holding him and glanced back over his shoulder at me. "Were you...checking my pulse? Or my temperature?" My face gave away the right answer and he sighed. "What are you, a thermometer?"

"Well, uh..." I scratched the side of my cheek, not sure how to really explain it without sounding a bit strange. It's not like I wanted him to know that Kairi and I had developed a top secret and elaborate code to check for various tells he had in case one of us thought something was up. If he knew, he would hide that stuff better. Thankfully he didn't seem to keen on delving any deeper right now.

"Do I seriously look that off?"

"Maybe, a little..."

Today was certainly wrapping up to be a fantastic day. Kairi was upset, Riku was probably worried about me again, and apparently I've waltzed my way into some sort of trap with a girl I barely even knew. I don't really get everything that is going on here, but I want to try and at least fix _something_ tonight. And since Riku is the only one here right now, I should focus on trying to make him feel better, somehow...

Ah! That's it! "You haven't had dinner yet, right? How about I make something!"

I was really getting into cooking. I never would have thought it would be something I'd take to, but it's way easier to cook than bake since I don't really have to measure everything accurately for it to be edible. Just throw in stuff that seems good together, together and it's food! Ta-da! And sometimes it even tastes okay.

He stared at me.

"Aw, come on! You've been listening to me rant about girl stuff for over an hour. Least I can do is make something super tasty as thanks!"

He dropped down onto the corner of his bed and crossed his arms. "That depends. Is today going to be an experiment as well?"

"Of course! Improvising is more fun!"

I saw a twinge of anxiety pass across his face and he did his best to hide it. I know he tends to like his foods relatively simple, plain and easy, and he always gets so nervous trying all the weird stuff I mix up. But he hasn't horribly disliked anything so far!

"Maybe you should have more faith in my skills." Sneaky me, playing the 'have faith' card. He definitely won't back out when I use that one.

I knew it, that was definitely a nod. A resigned nod, sure, but that was agreement all the same! Now time to actually see what his mom keeps stocked up in the house…

Outside, I heard a distant rumble of thunder, and the sound of rain starting to plummet lightly down onto the roof. Guess I was staying here tonight. I didn't want to have to run back home in a storm. I'm sure this little splatter of rain should all clear up before the festival, which was thankfully meant to have fantastic weather, but I wonder if something like this is meant to be a bad omen. Storms on the island did make me a little nervous now, after all...

Nah, I'm just being silly.

* * *

Ophelia dangled another flower down for me to see. I didn't particularly mind her wanting to show me, but I almost wished she would hurry up a little and finish lacing them through the banner up there. Holding this ladder steady is starting to give my hands a cramp.

"You see this one? It's one of my favorites." I laughed to myself, realizing that she's said that about the last ten. Still, hoping to at least add a tiny bit more to my flower knowledge, I focused on the strange tall pinkish looking bloom she held out to me. Oh, yeah! I do remember that one! Especially because it makes that super cool face with its petals.

"Snapdragon, right?"

She seemed pretty pleased that I actually knew the name of this one, twirling it around in her hands. "And...did you know that, um...flowers can have extra meanings?"

...no? Unless she was referring to something like how a paopu fruit is supposed to link people together if they shared one together.

She waved it in front of me again. "Do you want to, um, guess what one this flower has?"

Well, if it was a similar idea, maybe that could mean..."Do you get dragon powers if you eat it?"

"N-no, you can't eat it!" She shrieked and pulled it away from me, her eyes wide-open, startled.

I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. "It...it was just a joke, sorry." I guess she took a lot of things pretty seriously so I'd need to be a bit more careful to not upset her.

"O-oh." She paused, her brow furrowed for a moment before something sparkled in her eyes. "Oh! Oh, right! Ha. Ha, ha!" She gave me the most canned, fake laughter I'd ever heard. Well, with the exception of that one time Tidus tried to get into Drama club. That was terrible. It really made me wonder why she was forcing herself to act around me. Still spitting out her fake laughter, she teetered on the ladder and I immediately did my best to sturdy it for her.

"C-careful." I really didn't want her to get hurt up on this thing. She didn't seem to have the most stable footing. "Are you sure you don't want to swap? Because I could-"

She dropped her happy act and jabbed her finger at me. "No! You're the boy so you have to be there!"

"Oh. Uh..." I wasn't quite sure I followed her reasoning, but maybe it was just too hard for her to explain to me properly right now, so I just let it go and kept holding onto the sides of the ladder. She went back to hanging up the flowers and I was left standing there awkwardly in the silence.

I didn't really know her that well at all, so I had no idea if she was angry at me or just didn't know what to say. But I definitely couldn't stand the weird false persona she had been forcing on herself this entire time.

"Hey, Ophelia?" I tried to gauge her response and she seemed happy enough to glance down at me to see what I wanted, so I continued. "I can't help but feel like you're trying to hide from me. I really would like to be friends but that's a little hard when I can't actually meet _you_ , if that makes any sense. You shouldn't have to be worried about being yo-"

She burst into unrestrained giggles, stomping around on the ladder again and I had to adjust my grip to keep it steady. I'm even more baffled by her now, but at least that response seemed genuine, which made me happy.

I smiled up at her. "If you see any other flowers you like, make sure to let me know."

She nodded eagerly and gathered up the last bundle to string up into place. She stretched up to latch the last snap dragon onto the banner when I saw her momentarily glance down towards me before weirdly swaying side to side like she was trying to do some kind of ladder dance. I have no idea why, but...maybe she just really likes hanging up flowers? I focused on holding the steps steady for her, staring straight ahead as much as possible just in case she got the slightest bit worried that I would try to peek up her skirt. Her dance would have certainly made that pretty easy to do had I wanted to. I heard her stamping her feet around a bit harder and she gave an exasperated sigh.

"Everything okay?" I wondered if maybe she wasn't happy with her work. She gave the impression that she was a little bit of a perfectionist in some ways, especially with how neat and clean her two braids were.

She grumbled something from the top of the ladder, but I couldn't quite hear what it was. Before I could ask her to repeat herself, she was climbing down. I moved to the side to give her some room but she halted once she got down to the bottom rung. Then she just...let go.

Her hands opened up and she almost _allowed_ herself to pitch over backwards.

"Whoa, hey!" I darted back around and caught her before she could smack her head against the stage. Was that really intentional? What kind of a person would...

She gave an overly dramatic gasp, and spun around, snuggling herself against me. "Oh! You saved me!"

"Uh, no problem..." I bet she really did want to practice drama or something. I can't understand why else anyone would fake falling off the back of a ladder. That's a little eccentric, but not anything I'd get upset over. But the cuddling, though? That's just making me feel incredibly uncomfortable. I tried to extract myself from her grasp. "It really wasn't a-"

She gripped me tighter and I choked, air squished out of my lungs. I managed to wiggle my arms free, but she refused to let go of my torso, pressing her head against my chest.

"Sora, um...have you ever, um..."I figured it would be better to just wait for her to find the words to what she was trying to say. "D-do you...like anybody?"

Huh, that's an odd question. And not really what I was expecting. I tipped my head to the side. "Well, yeah I have a lot of friends who are all really imp-"

She gave me another painful squeeze and I just tried to relax into it in the hopes she would loosen her grip a bit. I still wasn't sure if I had her figured out, but there was something so...painfully lonely about her. Almost like she didn't really ever have anybody she could open up to about anything. And now that she's trying it, she's coming across as a little stilted.

"Am I...your friend?"

I tried to laugh but it was a little hard at the moment and it probably sounded a little wheezy. "Sure, I don't see why not!"

"So...you _like_ me?" I wasn't quite sure if I had misheard her emphasis, and I frowned. She wasn't trying to imply anything, was she?

"Well, I-"

She pulled her face up uncomfortably close to mine, her dark eyes boring holes through me. I leaned back, and glanced around, trying to find some way out of this situation. I didn't want to just pry her arms off, since she seemed so...vulnerable and insecure. But I _really_ didn't like how close she was getting to me now.

"Ophelia, uh...do you think you could maybe let me-" Before I finished my thought, I saw Selphie bustling around the corner, her nose buried deep into her clipboard. She scribbled down something hastily and started counting off the sets of flowers we had already layered down around the stage platform.

"Looks good! But we need two more over on the left si-" She finally looked up over the top of her board and she froze, her eyes bouncing between me and Ophelia who was still had me tightly ensnared, refusing to let me pull myself away from her.

"...Sora, what are you doing?"

Yeah, she definitely wasn't very happy to see me. Luckily for me, this distracted Ophelia enough for her grip to slacken and I hastily stumbled away. I grabbed up one of the flower arrangements near my feet in a panic, hoping it would keep Ophelia from jumping back into my arms again.

"H-helping with these! Ophelia said she needed me to-"

Selphie stomped over and yanked the pot of flowers out of my hands. I brushed some of the dirt off my shirt, a little worried about her enraged expression but ultimately kind of glad to be able to breath freely again.

"How _gentlemanly_ of you." She grabbed at my arm and started pulling me roughly off the stage. "Now if you don't mind, I need this to be a boy free zone until the festival starts."

I was thankful to be excused, but did feel it wasn't right to go running off. "Yeah, but I promised to-"

Selphie leaned in closely, lowering her voice to just over a whisper. "Sora, do you really want to be here? With her?"

Well that was a little mean. She wasn't _that_ bad. I bet she just needed more friends to get more comfortable being herself. "I'm just trying to help, why is that a problem?"

She screwed her mouth up and glared at me, mumbling a bit. "She had every option in the book and she settled on such a dense thing."

A dense...thing? Like...a rock? "Who are you talking about?"

She looked a little surprised, maybe she hadn't intended me to hear that. "You really _are_ clueless, aren't you? That girl isn't up to anything good." I opened my mouth to protest but she hushed me. "Sora, could you please just go? For Kairi's sake..."

I felt my heart sink a little. "Is...Kairi okay? I'm actually kind of worried about her since last night she-"

"She's tired, but fine, mostly." Selphie glanced back at Ophelia, who was very carefully unpinning and re-pinning one section of the leaf chain we had just finished stringing around the edge of the stage. "She also wanted to make sure you and Riku know where to meet her once things start."

"Yeah?" I brightened up. Maybe she wasn't mad at me after all.

"Just before six, when you hear the first confetti cannon go off, you should head up to the park by the old lighthouse."

That was a strange place to send us. But more importantly… "Confetti cannon!?"

Rather than answer my question, she just gave me a little smack on the shoulder, raising her voice again. "Now I'm giving you direct orders to get out! I'd better not see you until this thing kicks off this afternoon. Ophelia, you knew that he wasn't supposed to be here. At least you didn't being Riku with you, too."

I noticed Ophelia staring back at the two of us quite sadly. It still felt really crummy not to finish, but Selphie seemed so insistent that staying was going to hurt Kairi somehow. Probably she's just worried that I'll accidentally spy some prop lying around that spoils something. At least we already did all the hard parts so I wasn't dumping her with too much.

I saw Ophelia's face and did my best to smile up to her. "Sorry I can't quite help you wrap things up. But I think you had a much better idea of what you were doing than I did the whole time." She still looked particularly disheartened. "Keep up the good work! And remember to loosen up a little bit, it's way easier to just be yourself. Maybe I'll see you at the festival, yeah?"

Selphie shot me an incredibly stony glare, while Ophelia's meek smile widened only the slightest bit as she waved and gathered up stacks of unused flowers at her feet. First Kairi didn't make any sense, and now Selphie was being weird with me. Not to mention how confusing all that stuff with Ophelia just was.

I guess I understand girls even less than I thought.

* * *

The festival crowds were really starting to pick up. I'm glad all that advertising and hard work paid off for everyone, because everything looked fantastic. I was just excited that things were starting to kick off. Festivals always got me super pumped!

Roxas yanked me away from the opening in the tent we were hiding in. "Come on, the whole point of hiding out here is to not get spotted. It kind of defeats the purpose if you're opening the door for anyone to peek in here and blow our cover."

I folded my arms and backed away from the tent opening. "I'm not very good at hiding..."

"We know. Just give her a minute, she should be back soon." There goes Riku again, telling me to be patient. I'm sure he loves just sitting around in a private tent people watching, but some of us actually want to get out there.

The flap of the tent lifted and Aqua quickly dodged in, holding a large bag up in front of her face. "Sorry, ran into a few...fan club members. Had to take a detour so I wouldn't lead them back here."

She walked over to the small folding table that still had the remnants of Lea and Xion's card game and started laying out the contents of her bag one by one. I ran over and stared in awe at the animal masks now covering the table, as Aqua swept her arm grandly over the selection. "Here we are! The best solution I could find to solve the problem of navigating large crowds as a group without drawing too much attention."

Terra prodded at the mask closest to him, a very cute looking boar with a daisy on its head. "How exactly is a large group of people all wearing animal masks _not_ going to attract attention?"

Xion snatched the pig mask up and cuddled it close to her chest. "It's a festival! Everyone's going to be all dressed up! Right?"

"Yeah! This'll be fun!" I cheered and decided to check my potential options more seriously. Since Xion had already claimed the boar, there were ten remaining.

Starting from the left was a very serious looking cow mask, a tiger with a sleepy face, a rabbit munching on a dandelion, a dragon breathing out a plume of fire, a snake with a hypnotic stare, a really surprised black and white spotted horse, a sheep that was more fluff than face, a chicken that looked like it had an attitude problem, a temperamental gorilla, and a smiley dog that sort of looked like the one my neighbors had.

Lea hastily snatched up the dragon. "Fire baby, you know it's calling my name!"

"One of the more...straightforward choices." Aqua smiled to herself. "It was a little hard trying to pair the animals with everyone since I was limited to what the shop stocked, which seemed to be exclusively animals of the zodiac."

"...Zodiac?" I could tell Roxas was just as baffled as I was.

Riku prodded me to catch my attention. "Do you remember that world with the big snowy mountains and stuffy soldier in a red cape who thought he could beat me with a sword?"

I tried to connect the clues he had given me. "Oh! You mean where Mulan and Mushu live?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Their world has a thing called a zodiac where people are assigned an animal to their birth year. I assume it's one of those things that's catching on elsewhere now."

...how does he know all this stuff?

Aqua picked up the dog mask from the end of the table and handed it over to me. "I know some of the pairs won't be perfect, so feel free to swap them around. I'm also not too sure what each of the animals are supposed to represent in the native culture, but I suppose that doesn't matter too much for our purposes anyway."

I stared down at the dog in my hands. It was pretty cute, but I was sort of hoping to get something a little more...epic.

Riku chuckled down at the happy dog face and tapped its nose. "This one _definitely_ suits him."

I held it up to my face and looked through. "Not bad?"

"Riku's right, it's perfect." Roxas elbowed me.

I lowered it back down with a slight sigh. "Well...maybe I can just say it's a wolf or something. Wolves are pretty awesome, right?"

Namine shook her head. "But it's not a wolf, Sora. It's a shiba. It's known as being one of the most cheerful and least vicious breeds out there."

I hung my head. Of course...

Xion hesitantly put the boar mask back on the table. "Sorry, I didn't realize they were assigned to-"

Aqua dismissed her concern with a wave of her hand. "No, no, it's perfectly fine for you to keep that one. It's actually the one I figured you'd choose anyway."

Ven threw his hands behind his head and laughed. "So you've been spot on so far, Aqua. What did you have in mind for the rest of us?"

She started picking up masks and handing them out to the rest of my friends. "Terra gets the ox, because he's just as stubborn sometimes."

Terra folded his arms and sighed, but took the cow mask without a complaint.

"Then this sweet little sheep goes over here to you, Namine. Roxas, you get the tiger."

Aw, that's totally not fair! I shot Roxas a dirty look and he scooped the mask out of her hands with relish.

"Roxas, do you wanna tra-"

He firmly shook his head. "No way. I couldn't possibly deprive you of such a perfectly suited mask, Sora."

Dang it.

Now the only ones left on the table were the horse, the snake, the rabbit, the gorilla and the rooster.

Aqua continued dispensing them. "Riku, I figured you should get the horse."

He seemed a little confused by this, and took the mask from her hesitantly. "Any particular reason?"

She tipped her head. "Well, a horse is a very strong and dependable companion. A little stubborn, maybe because of their fiery spirit and desire to be free."

"I...see. Thank you."

At least Riku looked properly embarrassed for once. Lea snatched up the chicken mask that was one of the remaining four and examined it.

"Let me guess, this rooster goes to our little sleepyhead Ven?"

Aqua sighed. "Well, yes, but not for that reason."

Ven grabbed the chicken mask and slipped it on, still laughing. "That's fine, I think it's kind of funny. A little alarm clock to keep me awake, yeah?"

I took a glance down at the last three remaining masks. "So, which one is for you, Aqua?"

She held up the snake mask and set it to the side. "I figured I would take the snake, and Sora, maybe you could hold onto this rabbit one for Kairi. I don't know if she'll end up coming around with us at all, but if she does she might need one of her own."

I noticed there was still the gorilla sitting on the table. "Then, who gets that scary guy?"

"Ah, well..."

The expression in her eyes said enough. Right, so I guess Vanitas wasn't coming then after all.

Lea chuckled a bit, picking the monkey mask off the table and offering it towards me. "Give this one to Kairi, instead. It'll be hilarious."

I tried taking it from him but Riku snatched it up first. "If you give that to him he's definitely going to switch to it the minute he gets a chance, and we can't lose our happy little shiba, can we?"

Roxas agreed with him, the traitor. "Let's just let Aqua hang on to it."

Man, I would have loved to pretend to be a gorilla. I'm also the only one of our friends who can say I'm friends with real ones, too! Ah well...at the end of the day I suppose they do have a point pairing me with this little dog here. 'Man's best friend,' right? Not a bad compliment. I smiled to myself as I slipped it over my face.

At this point Namine was doing her best to help everyone fit their masks on, while Xion was bobbing around after her double checking. I glanced over at Riku and tried stifling my laughter but failed miserably at it. Grumpy horse man. Even though I couldn't really see his eyes, he was definitely glaring at me. I know how much he hates dressing up, but he hates being mobbed by fans even worse. I guess the costume ended up winning out in the end as the less bad option.

"At least you can take a picture with us now and no one will know it's you?" I playfully suggested, pointing to his camera bag.

Xion snagged his arm and jiggled it up and down. "Ooh, a picture! Let's do it!"

"Sounds good to me!" Ven jumped next to me, pulling me towards him. "Then we'll check out all the cool games. I'm definitely gonna try to win something! They still do that goldfish thing?"

"No pets." Aqua hastily chastised in that motherly way of hers, much to his chagrin. "But a photo would be nice. Is that alright, Riku?"

He shrugged. "Fine. I suppose since no one would really be able to tell us apart that way."

While Riku walked over to set the camera up on the timer, I bumped Roxas and lowered my voice. "Hey, wanna play a trick on him?" I nudged my elbow over towards Riku's back.

"Do I ever. What did you have in mind?"

"Just before the photo goes off..." I whispered my plan in his ear as quietly as I could.

He burst out laughing and had to choke it back. "Dude...you are _evil_ , sometimes. Let's do it. I'll pass the message this way. Hopefully Ven can convince Aqua."

Yeah, she would probably be the only one really opposed to it, but it's not like she doesn't have a sense of humor. It should be fine. Though I'm pretty sure I picked up on Ven trying to convince her, using the threat of goldfish as leverage.

Lea offered me a covert nod and I figured we were all in on it. Riku started giving some directions for us to gather together so we would all be included in the shot and we followed obediently, trying not to give away that we were up to something. At least the masks could hide our faces from his detailed scrutiny.

We would have three seconds once Riku set up the timer and darted back towards our group. I saw the light blink once.

Twice.

I tipped my mask off of my head and gave the camera a brilliant grin, noting with the corner of my eyes that everyone else had also thrown their masks to the side, posing freely towards the flashing light. I jumped against Riku, lifting a peace sign towards the camera, appreciating his baffled stutter.

Three times…

"W-wait, what are you-"

A flash of light. And the picture was complete!

Roxas raced over to the camera and got the first look at how it turned out. His smile slowly widened. "Why look at that, Riku. You're wearing a mask but _somehow_ I can still figure out who you are."

He passed it to me and I burst out laughing. All of us were posed in excitement around an extremely dour horse-man standing rigidly right in the center of the photo. Riku's eyes locked onto the picture like he was trying to order it to self destruct.

"...I hate all of you."

I don't care what he says, it's going to be a great keepsake. And it was even better to have everyone laughing in a group like this again.

He bopped me on the head. "Somehow I just know that was your idea. That's definitely the last photo I'm agreeing to with you, ever. I hope it was worth it."

"Aw, come on..." He'll get over it eventually.

Namine giggled and slipped her sheep back over her face. "It's too bad Kairi isn't here."

"Yeah..." I knew it was only a matter of time before that cannon went off, and we would have to go up to the old lighthouse like Selphie mentioned. Until then, I already know a few festival games I want to introduce everyone to. Coconut Stacking, here we come!

* * *

It was honestly all kind of a blur of fun. My mind was preoccupied thinking about Kairi, but it was pretty easy to distract myself when there are such fun things to do like sandcastle competitions, palm tree climbing races and watching Namine timidly attempt to operate a small pellet gun to shoot down some stacked cups. I almost forgot to pay attention to the signal, but once I heard the loud pop and saw red and yellow confetti falling down all around us like snow, it all came rushing back to me.

Riku jerked my arm back, pulling me with him. "Time to go, Kairi's waiting."

I glanced back at the group, currently gathered around the paper net fishing tent as they were watching Ven attempt to actually win his prize, scooping up as many plastic bubbles as he could off the surface of the water before his tiny paper net ripped. To win, he just needed to get more than the competitor across from him, but he was currently getting schooled pretty hard by a seven year old girl in rainbow socks.

"But, what about everyone else? Shouldn't they know too?"

Roxas overheard me and I saw him look up a moment, wave, then return this attention back to the action in the pool. What was that about? Did he know why we were going already?

"Don't worry about them. I mentioned that we might have to duck out earlier so you'd have a chance to see Kairi tonight. They all understood pretty clearly what that meant."

"But you..." I shuffled out from under his grip. "You _told_ them!?"

"Calm down, I didn't say anything important that they don't already know."

Ugh, he sounds way too relaxed about this...

I clomped my way up the side of the slightly damp hill, trying to do my best not to slide in the dewy grass. I hadn't been up here in...honestly, I don't even know. At the top of the hill rested the looming shadow of that huge abandoned light house. After they built the better one I guess they decided the one here didn't serve a purpose and it just sorta...fell into disrepair. Probably too expensive to tear down, and it wasn't really doing any harm just sitting here. The park has been semi maintained over the years, since it's still a nice lookout point, but its still covered with little bits of debris from the old parts of the lighthouse that have chipped away over the years.

As we climbed, more and more confetti cannons were blasting across the well-lit stage area below us, and I was a little upset we couldn't be back with everyone under the fire. I could hear people laughing and cheering about a lot of things I couldn't see and it was making me a little jealous.

"Why is she so far from the stage, anyway? Is she going to zip-line in?"

"That would be interesting, but I doubt it." Riku chuckled next to me and finally removed his mask, tipping mine off for me. I had almost forgotten about it.

I could just start to see the top of the hill, so I kicked up my speed and raced to the clearing.

It was empty. "...Where is she? Did we miss her? Is this the right hill? Don't tell me we went to the wrong spot!? Maybe she-"

"Just calm down and have some patience already." Riku leaned up against one of the old crumbling walls, casting his eyes out over the dark water.

I jumped up onto a low wall, kicking my legs at it in frustration. "I guess it's just nerves, sorry..."

Riku said nothing, only continued staring stoically out across the ocean. I still don't know how I'm going to tell her everything I needed to say tonight, but Riku was right. I definitely couldn't back out of it any more. I was done running from it. It is a little silly, isn't it? Fighting all the forces of darkness and I'm more nervous about talking to one of my best friends.

The cannons finally quieted down and there was an eerie silence. After a moment, I could vaguely hear some announcement happening down by the stage but it was impossible to pick out among the echoing reverb up in the hill.

"What do you think that's about?"

Riku gave me a sly grin. "I wonder..." Oh, he definitely knows.

There was a loud crash and light from a blazing fire suddenly flickered on from down below. But it wasn't coming from the stage, which I now noticed was filled with Selphie's impromptu band, it was two twin pyres dancing out almost magically over the surface of the water beyond the dock. A few sharp notes of music erupted from the stage and everyone's attention was drawn to the floating fire.

A figure draped with a heavy cloak seemed to emerge from the flames, a long staff clenched in their outstretched hand. It looked a lot like a branch of a tree with golden rings looping around it. As the figure stepped through, their feet brushed against the surface of the water and settled on top of it, but they didn't sink. The figure leaned back and threw off their huge shawl, revealing a fantastically colored dress of deep red and orange hues. She took three full steps away from the fire and spun the staff around her body, a full circle of fire tracing along after it, surrounding her and illuminating her fully as the various spots in the water were set ablaze.

That was Kairi. That was definitely, unmistakably Kairi.

But she was...I'd never seen her wear anything like that before. She had these long flowing sleeves that dragged down like the train of a dress, billowing around her like smoke. Her body was covered with this sheer, flowing material that twisted around her as she twirled across the surface of the ocean, a dancing fire on the water.

I was so entranced by her dance, I couldn't even think, let alone form words into actual sentences. "S-she's...Kairi is..."

As she slowly crossed the ocean, she waved the staff from side to side, fires springing up where she pointed as if on her command. The music up on stage was slowly accenting her walk, rising up with a crescendo whenever a fire burst to life. As she took step by step, I heard someone reciting something that sounded like a poem over the speakers.

I tried to listen, but I only really cared about watching her. Watching her dance out on those waves. I heard Riku say something, but I didn't really pay attention to him, either so I have no idea what he actually said. Something about volcanoes.

She slowly made her way closer towards the beach before the music quieted, and she raised the jingling staff up over the whole island, waving it gently over the entire space ahead of her, making the small rings clang together as she did so. What was once a frenzied explosion of a tempo because incredibly ritualistic and calming.

I saw her face as she gazed out across the main island in front of her, lit by the flickering fires around her whole body. She seemed so tranquil, so focused. I could tell whatever ritual she was doing definitely taking seriously. But I loved that face she made when she was extra determined about something. She spun, shaking the staff around with vigor and I saw the confetti cannons erupt once more on the crowd below, showering them with what looked like pink colored papers this time. It almost looked like flower petals. And, actually, now that I am looking closer, her staff is shaped a little bit like a cherry tree. Oh! I get what she's doing, now!

I felt a slight twinge of panic, hoping that if she really was reenacting the tale of the Volcano Princess that there wasn't going to be some random guy playing the part of her fisherman lover. I'm not sure how I'd handle having to stand here and watch her kiss somebody, even if it was pretend.

"Relax, it's a solo part. I checked."

For once I'm actually really glad that Riku is nosy. I noticed that at some point he had gotten his camera out and was taking pictures, something else I was intensely grateful for. I smiled down at that shimmering light of a girl, spinning across the ocean as the tempo picked back up again. Her feet left small ripples as she ran, circling back to the very center of the flames where she had started. I have no idea how she was walking on top of the water, but it must have been some trick. That, or Kairi was even more magical than I had ever imagined.

It was a silly thought, that Kairi could actually run on top of water. But despite that part being an illusion, there was no doubt in my mind. She was more special to me than anything I could have ever imagined. And all I wanted was for her to be happy. To see her smile.

The flames gave one massive burst then died down to almost nothing, as Kairi slowly curled down to the ground, any sight of her fading away with the light. I felt a pang of distress, realizing that this was her reenacting the death of the princess after the islands were created. It was just a dance, I know, and I tried to just focus on that part, but when I saw her reach one last time up towards the night sky as she collapsed, hand outstretched as she grasped for the stars, I wanted nothing more than to run out across that inky black water, pull her back up and wrap her in my arms. But the fires gave one final gasp and died, sucking her into the darkness below me.

I could hear the people cheering from below as they were showered with more of the pink confetti. Other than the cheering, there was no more sound from the stage and the lights of the festival slowly flickered back on. Despite the extra light, there was still no sign of her- the water remained as empty as it had been before the performance. I kept trying to change my angle, hoping to figure out where she's disappeared to.

After a good ten minutes had passed, I started to get a little antsy and I jumped down off the wall, pacing. Was she actually going to meet us up here? Or was her telling us to come up here just so that we would have a good view of the-

"Sora! Riku! You made it!" I heard her before I saw her. Felt her arms around me before I saw her coming, either.

I stumbled backwards, trying hard not to trip over some of the spare broken stones lying around nearby. Wow, I guess she really wasn't mad at me after all. You can't fake a hug like that. Hopefully Riku wipes that smile off his face soon before she notices. I didn't care that I had no idea how she got here, I was just glad that I could be with her again, see her so happy again. I was about to wrap my hands across her back to return the embrace, but froze when I saw her outfit again up close. There was so much...visible skin...

To my joint relief and disappointment, she pulled away from clutching me and gave Riku a bubbly wave. It's times like these I'm actually a bit glad that Riku doesn't like hugs. But man is he missing out.

"Kairi, you were so amazing!"

She waved my compliments off with a shake of her head, but...I could tell she really did appreciate it because she couldn't hide that tiny sliver of a smile. I reached out and started fussing for a moment with the long dangling sleeves of her costume. They were so amazingly soft. That was the one thing that made me jealous about girls' clothing- they always made it with such nice material I bet it feels so cozy all the time.

"This outfit is so cool, too!" My eyes drifted down her body and stalled for maybe a second too long on her bare stomach, because I think she noticed. She fidgeted a bit, draping some of the cloth of her sleeves out in front of her to cover it slightly. I know I've seen her in a swimsuit plenty of times, but for some reason this was...very different. I tried to gulp down the heat that was rapidly spreading up to my face.

I backed up a little, trying to look at some part of the outfit that wasn't too revealing or attractive, but nearly every part was accented with either lace, sheer material or her...skin. I tried to settle on her face but the way her eyes were sparkling made that place just as dangerous to me. I ended up having to settle on her left foot. "Y-you're really p-pretty—I-I mean you were—I mean you a-always are, b-buh...w-wait..."

Riku elbowed me in the ribs. "Look at that, it was such a good performance you have him talking in circles."

I took a chance at looking back up at her face, saw her blushing a little and aborted, returning my eyes back to the safety of her ankle. Dang it, even that was affecting me now for some stupid reason. It's just an ankle! Get a grip, brain!

"I'm sorry I had to keep it a secret. I hope it was worth it. I assume it wasn't much of a secret to you, though." I saw her reach over and tap Riku on the shoulder. He hesitated, clearly not wanting to say one way or the other. But it was pretty obvious he already solved it. Figured as much.

"Even knowing what you were planning, it didn't ruin anything. It was worth it to see his reaction, too." He jammed his thumb over in my direction and I sighed.

"Yeah, well...I definitely appreciate not having anything spoiled for me ahead of time."

"Oh? Should I tell her about your reaction during the show?" Riku was obviously in a good mood, to my horror. I pleaded with my eyes, but I don't think that was going to work today. "He was sitting here complaining the whole time about how you weren't here, then the music started and you stepped out..."

Oh no, come on Riku that's too much. You'd better not say anything too...

"I've never seen him get so quiet before. Except for that time he got hit with silence status. That was fun."

Yeah, I remember that. My tongue felt all fuzzy and my voice just completely disappeared. Riku wouldn't stop laughing, pestering me with 'Hey, correct me if I say anything that isn't true about you...' followed by a list of stupidly embarrassing stuff that he knew I couldn't deny properly. Sure, I did that to him _first_ when he caught the status earlier but that's absolutely besides the point. He had way too much fun rubbing that in my face. At least I had esuna ready for him right away. That jerk made me suffer for a while before he actually helped me.

Kairi giggled, pointing to my expression which I guess was at least a bit miffed. "Come on, stop teasing him. I'm glad it was worth the effort."

"S-so how did you even get up here from down there?" I tried to change the subject as best I can. But, I was also really curious about it too.

"The underground tunnels." Riku answered for her. "This lighthouse had a storage space underneath it that at some point was expanded to make a route out towards the sea to pick up cargo and other supplies dropped off on the beach without having to lug it up the side of the hill. They shut it down once the second lighthouse was built and this one wasn't needed any more. It certainly wasn't a very functional design."

Seriously...how did he know all this stuff!?

Kairi confirmed his theory with a nod. "Yeah, we basically had a boat back there behind the glass stage that I was standing on. It drove around to the base of the tunnel system and I used that to sneak up here. It certainly was a better choice than having to wade through all the crowds. I bet everyone would want a photo with the real Volcano Princess, huh?"

I laughed and remembered the silly rabbit mask we had for her. I untied it from my belt and handed it over to her. "Here, Aqua got us all these masks just so we can walk around the festival without being too assaulted by fans."

She looked at the bunny and giggled. "Oh gosh, this is too cute. Wait, what masks did you two get then!?"

We glanced at each other before holding them up for her to see. She burst into laughter, wiping at her eyes. "Sora, you are _absolutely_ a shiba. And Riku, I suppose a horse kind of fits if you think about it." I offered her a chance to look at the picture we had taken earlier with everyone, despite Riku's protesting.

"Riku, you..." She dissolved into laughter, having to collect herself before she could continue. "W-what's with the long face?"

Oh man, Kairi is breaking out the lame jokes, now. At least I know for sure she's really happy now, and that's all that matters.

I had a sudden realization that this might actually be it. I finally had her here with me, at the festival. Her present was ready and waiting in my pocket and...I felt a twinge of unease. This...was going to be a lot harder than I thought. I decided at least to confirm how much time I had with her. "Are you...finished with everything, then?"

"Not exactly." My heart dropped as she pointed out towards the sea. "They tasked me with lighting the boat pyres of the _sacrifices_ at the end of the festival as well so I actually have to stay in costume for a bit." She said this so dramatically I was really glad that I knew by sacrifices, she was talking about all those symbolic wooden doodads that people put in the boat to be burned for good luck or to move past a hardship or something. "When one boat fills up, they launch a firework. After the seventh one, I need to head back down through the tunnels to get a ride back out there again. Then I light some fires!"

"No way! That's awesome!" I had no idea there would be fire works this year! I gave her a cheeky grin. "That means until then we get to be the special attendants of the legendary volcano spirit, right?"

She flicked my hair. "Indeed you do. But it will be hard for me to go into the crowds with this on. Even, um...wearing a bunny mask. So until then is it alright if we just stay up here? It'll be a shame that I can't really see anyone else, but..."

"Sure, fine with me. It's nice to have some quiet for a change." Riku nodded, glancing over at me with a certain look in his eye.

I felt a bit of a panic. That means...for sure...this is the time I have. But I...I haven't quite gotten my words together right. Surely she hasn't had a chance to eat much so far today, right? She must be starving. Maybe I can go fetch us some snacks and think on the way. I only need a few more minutes, then I'll be ready for sure.

I bounced back and forth a bit between my feet, trying to help dissipate all this nervous energy. "So, Kairi, um...I bet you're hungry! I'll go grab something for us to have together!"

Before either of them could say otherwise, I made a mad dash back down the path towards the food area. What am I going to say? What am I going to say!? Maybe I'll just...look her in the eyes and let the words come out. Don't over think it. I almost made it down into the crowd before I remembered to slip my mask back on over my face. It wouldn't be good to get mobbed now, I'm under a bit of a time pressure. Who knows how long it would take before the boats get filled up?

I decided to snag something easy for snacks that wouldn't be too messy and settled on just getting some taiyaki since the line wasn't too long. While I waited, I noticed Tidus and Wakka were both standing around by the cotton candy. As much as I wanted to get some of that too, I feel like just bringing back pure sugar probably wouldn't be received warmly.

I caught their attention with a wave. Tidus narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously, and checked over his shoulder maybe to see if I was actually calling out to him. Oh, right, the mask. I lifted it slightly so he could see that it was me and I saw him sigh and mumble something that I think vaguely sounded like 'hood half dressed' but it was probably actually 'should have guessed'. I mean, unless there was something really bizarre behind me.

I checked just to be sure. Meanwhile, Tidus strolled over and gave me a big high-five, Wakka greeting me in tow. There was a grunt behind me and I saw a somewhat disgruntled man gesturing towards the line.

"Relax man, we're not buttin' in. Just saying hi." Wakka tried to calm him, but he just huffed.

Guess a long chat wasn't really a good idea.

Tidus just shrugged. "Eh, don't mind him. Kairi was really something out there, though. You did see her, right?"

"Y-yeah..." I was kind of glad I had this mask now. It definitely helped save me from potential teasing from these two if they saw how red my face undoubtedly was.

Tidus still had a smirk on his face, though. "Uh-huh. Glad to hear it. Oh, and don't worry about any intrusions from little miss clingy, Selphie's got that handled five times over."

I'm...not exactly sure I know what he's talking about, but I guess Selphie's doing me a favor somehow.

Wakka clapped me on the shoulder. "Hey man, good luck with her tonight. You'll do fine."

"Thanks, I'll-huh?" The only people who could possibly know that I was going to say anything to Kairi was Riku and...don't tell me he told _them,_ too!? Why!? Unless Selphie figured it out herself? ...Ugh, I suppose that explains why she's been acting so weird around me the last week or so.

Tidus snickered and turned to leave, as I was next in line at the stall and the dude behind me was getting increasingly more agitated at their presence. "We won't spy on you...much."

Oh, great. I sagged, and gave them a quick parting wave. Well I suppose now I definitely have to say something. If I don't I'm going to have a whole team of people breathing down my neck for answers. I ran the words and phrases over and over through my head, but nothing sounded right at all. It all felt so fake and rambling.

I clutched the bag of food close as I started making my way back up the hill, the lighthouse acting as a pretty good guide as to where my friends would be waiting.

 _Bang!_

The sound of the first firework bursting into the air actually startled me so much I yelped out loud. It exploded into the air in a fiery dust of reds and oranges, the light twinkling for a brief moment before fading down to black. The embers so bright they left memories of their passing trails in my eyes. She had to go after the seventh one. That was the first. No time left to think, just gotta run.

Everything was still so cluttered in my head, but I know that once I see her, I'll know w-


	9. Riku: Drawn to flame

...And there he goes. I knew he wouldn't be able to handle the pressure and would go running off to stall for time.

Alright, I guess I'm alone with Kairi for a while until he gets back. I turned to look out at the pitch black ocean waves lapping the beaches down below us, leaning my arms down on the old railing. I really needed to finally stop running away from this stuff myself.

I tried telling him last night, but...it's so hard, when he's sitting there with that never-ending smile on his face. I just couldn't bring it up after he does his absolute best to cheer me up without even knowing the whole reason why I'm so troubled, making me that silly impromptu dinner, which actually wasn't too bad. Or when he's peacefully drifting off to sleep, clutching that stupid ratty old whale I had to make in home-ec class that he refused to let me get rid of or take off my hands because it's _mine_. I'm not sure how my shoddy workmanship still held up after all these years and aggressive snuggles from a certain someone on sleepovers.

He was so...resilient to pain, but...I'd prefer not to test his limits. If I can do this right, maybe he never even has to know. I closed my eyes for a moment, taking in the silence.

I'm such a coward.

I felt Kairi gently drift up next to me. I turned to see her give me a quick smile before she settled her gaze out over the hazy black blanket of the night. And I looked away.

Now was the time, wasn't it? Might as well figure out how to get this over with. Maybe if I try to be as plain and factual as possible it won't be so bad...

Before I could think how to phrase bringing the topic up, she was wandering off, down towards the crumbling ruins. "Hey, Riku? You used to come here a lot, right?"

I nodded, watching her every move closely. She really was stunningly beautiful in that outfit. It shimmered like a fire under the starlight, somehow capturing that unremitting aura of hers that flowed into nearly everything she touched. Her warmth maybe was a bit like a fire, burning through a cold night. Reaching someone even like me.

She brushed her hand against the crumbling walls, and I half expected her touch to somehow bring them back from the dead. I stood up and joined her at the wall, laying my hand over the stone she had just grazed with her fingers. I could still feel the remnants of her heat.

She sighed, continuing to pace along the wall. "I've always loved ruins like this. It feels like the memories of the past are overflowing everywhere. It's a shame no one ever uses this space anymore, though. It's such a pretty place. But maybe its charm is its remoteness? I bet that's why you come up here so much, right?"

I just nodded again, feeling the stone go ice cold once more under my fingers.

She skipped back over towards me, hands behind her back. "So quiet, today..." She tried giving me another smile, but I really didn't feel like I had the heart to return one back. "Riku, um...I talked to Selphie a little bit about this morning. Did Sora..."

She chewed at her lower lip, her foot nudging a chunk of broken stone on the grass. "Did he mention anything about a girl, or..." I had a feeling she would ask about this. "Nevermind, I suppose it isn't any of my-"

"Yeah, a bit. Said this morning that he promised to help a girl from your flower club with a favor and she was acting a bit odd the whole time. Then he got kicked out by Selphie and left. Nothing too important. Why?" I glanced at her, definitely not missing the relieved smile that hovered for a moment on her face before she suppressed it back down.

"U-um...no reason." She was a really bad liar when she got flustered. "J-just wondering if he and Ophelia got along at all, or..."

"It's Sora, he tries to get along with everyone. It's not too unusual."

"Mm...yeah, you're right." She hooked some stray strands of hair behind her ear, and I noticed the beautifully intricate hairpin she had twisted through a loose bun. It wasn't very often that she tied her hair back, and it made her look a little older, more elegant in a way.

She returned back to the railing and I joined her, listening to the laughter of festival goers echoing all the way up to where we were.

"It's such a special time of the year for the island, isn't it? Everyone comes together to do their part, sharing all this joy and effort to really make it special and show the love they have of their home. Everything, from the smallest little decoration is just so brimming with love and care. It makes me feel so...blessed, to be able to call such a place my home." She smiled down at the bustling courtyard, dotted with lights from the paper lanterns. "What do you think about all of this?"

"It's busier than I remember."

She huffed and smacked me playfully in the chest with the back of her hand. "Yeah, thanks for that piece of _truly_ deep introspection, I appreciate it. But seriously...I was hoping to hear your opinion. Sometimes I find myself feeling both happy and sad about it. Isn't that strange?"

Well, if she wanted a real answer, I suppose I could give that a try. I shook my head. "No, not strange at all. This festival is special because I think it highlights the duality or the dichotomy of many things. Creation and destruction go hand in hand; that's basically what a volcano is."

She paused, clutching her hand around the stone of her necklace that she likely insisted on wearing despite it clashing with her costume a little. "Dualities...and dichotomies...all the things that always go together despite being opposites."

"It's probably why you have been feeling both happy and sad. The whole idea of burning parts of our past is...sad, in a sense. But it's only done so that something new can begin and take its place." Right now, I knew tons of people were throwing their symbolic items in one of those boats, ready for her to set alight at the end of the night, hoping that it would help them move on, or forget.

Kairi fidgeted with her sleeves. "I...I know how that makes sense, but...does something _always_ have to end? Will we always have to let go?"

I crossed my arms. "I think this is starting to fall into philosophical debate territory. There are tons of hypotheticals out there, Kairi. Who knows."

She lowered her arms and stared transfixed back at the lanterns. "I...think, or at least, I like to think that even though the world is made up of so many fixed opposites, things that will come to pass no matter what, like...how everything born will some day die and other harsh truths, maybe there are some things, if we want it hard enough, we can force one duality to show itself over the other. And maybe to start something new...we don't always have to give up something in exchange."

"That's just because you're too stubborn to say goodbye."

She was glowing again, the light of the moon glinting off that golden hairpin of hers. Her light was something so special, so full of hope and healing.

It isn't my place. It never really could be, because of...how I am. But a small part of me still wishes for it.

If I knew one way or the other, I could be closer to that warmth, even just a little. This apprehension inside of me often makes me feel like I'm a moth drawn to her flame, and if I approach even the slightest bit further I'll lose everything. Because I don't know where I stand with her.

If I knew, I could finally move past this.

She had now pulled away from the railing and was strolling back along the stone wall, in the direction of one of the benches, I assume to sit down with me and wait for Sora to come back. I followed close behind her, not wanting her to slip too far away.

"Kairi, there's something really important I have to tell you."

"Oh, what is it?" She seemed a bit thrown off by the heavy weight of my words, coming to a complete stop. "Is everything alright?"

"...Not exactly."

Her face twisted up in concern, and I knew I just had to spit it all out there. There wasn't really any other choice any more.

"I've got a problem I have been trying my hardest to ignore. I wanted to wish it away. But no matter how hard I try it's only gotten worse."

She pawed at her necklace again. "I'll...do what I can. Have you talked to Sora about it?"

I sighed and closed my eyes. I could hear the festival continuing with such joy down below us, and I thought about him again. I don't want to hurt him, but if I don't do this, I will never be able to be the person he needs to fully support him in the future. Because there will always be that slightest doubt...

A gust of wind blew between us, billowing her dress out around her, framing her in fire. Her face was flushed, serene, _radiant_.

And I was nothing but a moth.

"Kairi...do you remember when you said 'if someone is taking the chance to confess to me I will hear them out, no matter who it is coming from'?"

She blinked up at me. "Well, y-yes I did I say that, but...why mention that now? What does that have to-"

"Would you listen to mine?"

"...wh-?" She stumbled backwards, catching her high heel on a loose stone. I caught her by the wrist, but she still fell a bit, bumping against the stone wall behind her.

"R-Riku, you…?"

She looked dizzy, her eyes darting about the whole courtyard, about my face, searching for something to tell her what was happening. I released her wrist but took a step closer towards her, leaning my left hand against the stone, just behind her shoulder. I was a little worried she would just try to dodge away from me, and that certainly wouldn't help anything.

"You've always been special to me, but after everything I did in the past, I mostly wrote myself off as unworthy and let the thought of you go. For the longest time, I thought it had worked. But now that things are more...settled, the feelings kept creeping back little by little. But I kept telling myself I didn't deserve it. I didn't deserve love and needed to accept that."

She had been still trembling, frozen, against the rock, but with my last sentence she aggressively shook her head at me. "Riku, that's...no! You aren't unworthy of love-of course you deserve it!"

"From you?"

She let out the smallest of gasps, and I felt so drawn to her I couldn't pull myself away. I was losing control. The longer I stared into those eyes, the longer I felt how warm she was against my arm, the more I needed to touch her.

 _Boom_.

The sounds of a firework ripped through the air and I could see reflections of the light shimmering in her eyes. The sudden clap of sound only motivating me further, destroying my hesitations.

I pushed closer to her, brushing my other hand against her chin and she trembled under my fingers. I loved it. My heart thumped heavier in my chest and I wanted nothing more than to fill my senses with her.

"Kairi, I really like you. But tonight is about moving on from the past. Either accept me now, or let me know, with finality, that it's not meant to be."

"I..." Her eyes were so open, so honest, and they locked with mine unsurely, but not saying no.

Her hands, shaking, reached up and gripped at the front of my shirt. She didn't pull me closer, but she wasn't pushing me away, either.

I couldn't wait any more.

"Maybe this will help you decide."

I lifted her chin and let myself draw closer to her soft, slightly parted lips. I stopped for a moment when I felt my nose brush against hers slightly. My body tried to force me forward but I resisted it for a moment, knowing that she needed time to answer me. If she crossed that gap between us, or gave me any positive indication, there would be no stopping me.

I waited, feeling the heat of her breath, struggling against the pulling desire to just taste her.

And after the longest pause, her eyes closed.


	10. Kairi: Precious Revelation

_Boom_.

I saw fragments of the dying embers from the firework scattering down across the sky behind Riku, lighting his silhouette, but none of that mattered right now. He leaned closer to me, taking my chin into his hand. His touch sent a cold shiver up my spine and my feet were absolutely rooted to the ground, the stone even chillier against my bare skin.

"Kairi, I like you. But tonight is about moving on from the past. Either accept me now, or let me know, with finality, that it's not meant to be."

"I..." His eyes were staring so sharply at me I couldn't look away from him. I felt panic rushing through my body. This really isn't a joke, is it?

I reached up and clutched at his shirt, hoping I could just have a moment to think about what was happening here. All this time he...what do I do? He _likes_ me? But he...but I…

All things considered, it's a little exciting, in a way, but...do I feel that way about him? My heart beat faster in my chest.

"Maybe this will help you decide."

He pushed forwards, lifting my chin and lowering his face down towards mine. His breath was warm, comforting on my face, calming my racing heart. I could smell him so clearly, a deep earthy pine. It was one of the most relaxing scents, so familiar. I almost wanted to just fall into it all, let him kiss me. After all, why not? I did care for him. I maybe even did like him in that way. He really wasn't bad an option for a first kiss—I knew so many other girls who would have done anything to be in the space that I occupied right now. But I really don't know. My mind raced. His green eyes were shining so clearly, so sincerely in the light.

What was I feeling? Fear? Excitement? I don't understand my heart at all right now. It was just racing in my chest with such fluttering confusion like a trapped butterfly. I felt Riku's nose brush against mine and he paused, hovering just above me, waiting for my answer. I...I suppose I…

I let my eyes slowly close.

Deep inside, I felt something stirring, snapping awake. That small voice, that soft, yet insistent and demanding voice came back to me, but now it was doing more than whispering suggestions in my ear. It was a panicked cry, yelling and begging me 'no'—and...I saw _his_ smile, I saw _him_.

This wasn't what I wanted at all.

Filled with alarm I gasped, eyes snapping open, and I thrust my arm forward, shoving it against Riku's chest, keeping him from drawing that last little bit forward into me.

He immediately froze, his lips only a few centimeters away from mine. We both remained, still, for what felt like forever.

My arm, bracing against him started to shake and he finally pulled away, dropping my chin.

"I see."

I stuttered stumbling phrases of nonsense as I continued shaking against the stone. He turned away, eyes focused again off somewhere out over the ocean.

"I'm sorry. I lost myself for a moment. I shouldn't have done that to you."

Everything still felt all mixed up inside, but I rejected his apology with the shake of my head. "N-no, you shouldn't apologize for this, it's...maybe I should have just realized sooner and..."

Because while I can't ignore that frustrated feeling inside that wanted to give him a little smack on the back of the head for startling me so much, I knew it would be wrong to entirely chastise him for finally opening up about something.

He held up his hand. And he was...smiling?

"You gave me the answer I expected. And I'm mostly relieved to finally have an answer." His voice halted for a moment, as he focused his eyes back onto my face. "It felt wrong to you, didn't it?"

I slowly nodded, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "I'm so sorry but I couldn't, I just felt...I thought about..."

"I don't need you to apologize, Kairi. I told you before not to let yourself get pressured into anything so it obviously felt wrong and that's fine. I only need you to be fully honest with me. _What_ did you think about."

"S-so many things! I..."

He pressed his hand back behind my shoulder, trapping me against the wall again. "Kairi, you stopped me because you thought about someone else, didn't you?"

I felt icy chills everywhere, even colder than the stone. My knees wobbled and I almost crashed down to the grass but he caught me, helping me to the closest bench by the fence. I choked, feeling a few of my tears leak out. I tried to push them away from my makeup and my dress but it was probably a futile effort. It's true, I did see him...but what would that even mean?

"Who did you see, Kairi?" He gripped my shoulders tightly with both hands, staring down at me with far more intensity than before. "By now, can't you understand why?"

I closed my eyes slowly, remembering his smile again. I felt that same sudden chill up my back, in my stomach. That same bubbly fluttery burning shiver of a feeling. When Riku came so close to kissing me I felt so unsure but with him...all of me was totally, positively...

 _Bang._

A revelation, searing through me like the hot embers of the firework. I spun around to stare at it, transfixed by the light. I felt so insignificantly tiny under that fanning ray of color.

 _Bang._

All my inhibitions and doubt. The wall I'd foolishly erected around myself shattered in front of me, the pieces raining down like the streaks of glowing dust falling through the sky before my eyes.

Because the color in the sky was so brilliant, clear, and now...so, so obvious.

"Sora..." I breathed out his name slowly, staring up at the expanse stretching out in front of me, the stars temporarily subdued by the lingering smoke. I couldn't see it now, but I knew that calming horizon was out there. "It's...Sora..."

One single tear tracked its way down my cheek and I trembled, gathering up fistfuls of my dress. "Riku, I...I like him. I like him a lot."

"Finally took you long enough..." Riku clutched me close to him, giving me the most genuine hug I've ever had from him and I felt the tears pour out unrestrained. All the twisting emotions that I had bottled up these last two weeks just spilled out, all over his shirt. I tried stifling it back, wiping it away, but he pulled my hand away from my eyes.

"Don't worry about that right now, just let it out."

I don't know why I never put the pieces together. Everything about Sora was always so...right. So genuine. My memories of him are my most vivid and precious. Like all those sticky hugs he'd give me on my bad days, and that one year he actually dressed up in flimsy wings and a tiara when I wanted everything at my birthday to be fairy themed.

Even in the depths of nothingness, he was the one I trusted with my lost heart because as silly as he is sometimes, there's an unrelenting compassion inside of him and a selfless desire to help others that I so admire. But it goes so far beyond that.

If he was scouring the depths of the ocean for treasure but found nothing but shells, I know rather than be disappointed he would be making sure to share the beauty of each one with such vigor you'd think that was why he went down there in the first place. For the sake of everyone, he does his best to find the brightness of the sun hiding behind the clouds.

I've never met another like him. Him and his cheerful, slightly naive but determined heart. A heart so giving that it takes in everyone elses' pain and shelters them from the storm. I knew for the longest time I had admired that heart of his. But I hadn't realized where the division lay between admiration, and pure unrestrained love. Just judging by this glowing, yearning feeling I have now, I must have left that line of division far behind, long ago.

"Wh-what do I do now?" I prayed that Riku had answers for me, because I had never felt so lost in my life.

"Tell him."

I know he was right, and that was exactly what I needed to do. But the thought of telling him something like this...I mean, I didn't even realize what this feeling was until right now! How can I really put such a feeling into words in so short a time? I suppose all I can really do is try. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down as he continued patiently holding me until I felt ready to let go.

After a few more steadying gulps of air, I gave him the tiniest of nods and he pulled away, sitting quietly next to me.

"I'm sorry...about your shirt..." I choked, noticing that he had a few obvious wet spots along the front.

"I already told you not to worry about that. It's a tiny price to pay for you finally being able to be honest with me, and with yourself."

There he went again, using the word 'finally' like he was expecting all of this already.

"You...knew?"

"I was fairly sure. Most of me hoped so, anyway."

"...most of you?"

He crossed his arms, turning his eyes upward. "Yeah. A part still wanted you to say yes to me."

I bit my lip. He had such a pained look on his face. "Riku...you've been struggling with this for a while, haven't you?"

"Yeah." He closed his eyes for a moment, almost like he was relishing the slight breeze before he slumped forward. "But it's over now. I knew if I didn't get an answer soon, it would be too late and the not knowing might just fester inside of me forever. And I couldn't let that eat away at me."

Despite what he'd just done, I knew at the end of it all he really was just trying to be a good friend. I sighed heavily and gave him a little bit of a teasing glare. "Of all the ways to tell me-why did you have to chose to do it like that!?"

"It just...happened. I didn't set out to try and kiss you, I..."

I pursed my lips together and he hung his head again.

"I'm sorry. I'm frustrated at myself, too. I'll take your anger if you have any. I deserve it."

With all that regret and heartbreak hanging over him, all I could think to do was leap up and cradle his head up in my arms.

"Hey...don't beat yourself up about this, okay? You do deserve love and all of that." He tried to pull away from me, but I really didn't want to let him go. "Just a minute! I'm so sorry I caused all of those conflicting feelings in you and I'm sorry that I can't really be the one to help you resolve them, but...I never want you to feel bad for having felt them in the first place."

He stopped fighting and I let him relax into my arms. He lingered there for a moment, peacefully. "Now that I know, I can accept it. Honestly everything you did is for the best." He pulled away and seemed much more at ease than before.

"Are you sure?"

"Kairi, you'll always be important to me. Deep down I knew it probably wouldn't work between us that way. I'd have way too much guilt all the time about it even if you had said yes."

"Well, in that case..." I smacked him hard against the back.

He winced, clearly surprised. I continued whacking him with my sleeves a few times. "Never. Do that. Again!"

He just took it, nodding without resistance. The cloth wouldn't have hurt much, but hopefully it makes a bit of a point. I let him have one last smack and then dropped back down to the bench with a huff. "Seriously. I can't believe you."

"Sorry..."

"But...you mentioned something about guilt. Is that because you knew how I felt about Sora?" I tried to read his face, but he was doing his best to turn away from me.

"Not...exactly."

What else could he be feeling guilty for? Unless..."Is it because of Sora? Do you know something about his feelings that I don't?"

Riku said nothing. And that told me everything.

I felt hot embarrassment rush to my face and I had to take a few stabilizing breaths. "B-but, that's..." Somehow the idea of Sora possibly feeling the same way filled me with bubbling excitement. But I was still reluctant to accept something like that so easily. "Riku, I know he cares about me but he's been alone with me all the time and he never said..."

"It's not an easy thing to say."

"Oh, I'm that intimidating, am I?" I huffed. He is definitely dodging saying anything directly. I just kept my eyes focused on him until he couldn't avoid me any longer.

"You know how he is."

"Exactly! He's so earnest! If he really _liked_ me there is no way he would be able to hide it that well at all."

Riku just spluttered and laughed. My face was definitely starting to redden again.

"What's so funny!? You big meanie, you'd better tell me!"

He crossed his arms. "I'm just going to leave this for you two to sort out with each other. But did you really never consider that a possibility before?"

I reflected back on things carefully. "I don't know...every time I felt that he was affectionate towards me I just assumed it was because he is an affectionate person in general..." I pulled my legs up to the bench and clutched around them. "Everything is all jumbled up right now. But I really should have understood my own feelings sooner. I guess...that explains why I was so anxious about Ophelia."

"Oh, the flower girl? Yeah, it was a little amusing seeing you get so worked up." He snorted and I raised my long sleeve up at him again threateningly. "But really, I wouldn't worry about that. You said yourself that you had more sense than to just jump at the first person to ask you out and I'm sure he's the same. Both of you are pretty good at understanding people at the end of the day. You seek out the good in everyone and he can break down their self-imposed barriers to reach it."

I knew he was right, but that didn't mean I felt like I could completely relax about it.

"I guess he has at least two secret admirers now..." I tried to joke about it, but it came out a little hollow.

He gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Listen, I'll make sure you two have some time alone, okay? There's no reason for you to be nervous."

I felt a little guilty but he gave me another reassuring nudge. "Hey, I'll be fine if I know you two will be happy."

"Thank you..." I stayed huddled on the bench. It was still a little cold and I really wanted to see his smile again. It always made me feel so warm. He was so precious to me. I wanted to cherish that heart of his and pour all my love back into it, to only try and make up for the pain he's had to endure. I repeated his name over and over in my head, the thought of him driving the cold away.

Riku glanced back at the path that lead down to the festival, still bustling below. "You said you had to leave after the seventh firework? That was three already..." He frowned. "Where _is_ he?"

I stared back at the path as well, almost hoping that I would see him just then, charging towards us with that smile on his face.

But the path remained empty, quiet and still.


	11. Riku: Sora?

Well, what's done is done. I can't say it feels wonderful, but it's done. And, at least, there is a little bit of relief settling inside me as well, finally. But now I was starting to get anxious on Sora's behalf. Not that it won't go well with Kairi, because she's obviously going to give him an emphatically positive response, but more that he just won't get a chance to say what he wants before she has to leave. He was certainly taking his time getting back here. He probably forgot to put that stupid mask on and is getting mobbed by tourists. Maybe I should go track him down and swap places with him if necessary. Not looking forward to having to get my photo taken if that's the case, but if it can get him _up_ here…

I saw Kairi was starting to pace back and forth past the benches. I'm not sure if she's started to get worried about him or if she's just anxious about what she's going to say. Probably both.

"Kairi, maybe I should go look for him. You can stay here and get your thoughts in order."

She pulled at her hair nervously. "R-right..."

I made my way down the hill, still a bit slippery now that it had all those flower petals strewn down across it. I jammed my own stupid mask back over my face and tried to guess which direction he might have chosen. While there were places to get food peppered all over, most of the major stalls were to the left, so it was as good a direction to try as any. Knowing Sora, he probably went straight for the cotton candy.

I wandered about the endless crowds, waiting to see any sign of a particular lovesick puppy wandering lost among them. The longer I searched, the more my slight irritation gave way to my growing concern. With Sora, I could almost always feel his presence before actually seeing him. It was a useful skill I'd picked up after wearing that blindfold for so long.

Closing my eyes, I tried to feel out for him, but even that came up with nothing. The glowing spark of his distinctly light and breezy aura was just...gone. Nearby, a vaguely similar aura touched my senses. It was close to Sora, but more subdued, more sharp around the edges. If Sora was a lively warm spring wind, this was more like a nip blowing through late autumn. Definitely Roxas. Not who I was looking for, but he might know something.

I followed it until I reached its source. Sure enough, I saw Hayner, Pence and Olette hanging around a conspicuously out of place tiger. I approached, tipping my hand over to him to get his attention. I didn't want to exactly call out to him in the middle of this crowd, which would essentially defeat the point of the dumb costumes.

He gave me a head nod and whispered something to his friends, I assume letting them know I'm not just some random horse-loving weirdo.

"Yo, you look _super_ dumb in that thing." Hayner shoved the rest of his pretzel into his mouth with a massive gulp, munching at it loudly, spewing chunks out on his shirt. "Amd I fwought _he_ lwooked ridwiculous."

I decided not to start something, but it was incredibly tempting to comment on his appearance at the moment.

Olette scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Ugh, Hayner, close your mouth while you chew at least."

Pence, I noticed, was currently caught up stuffing as many takoyaki as he could possibly fit in his mouth at once. With each new one he squished in, he desperately tried muttering "fishy wishy" and going for another. Again, I decided it was best to ignore that one.

Hayner clapped his friend on the back, still chewing his own pretzel. "Woo! Sweven!"

"It's...ah..." Roxas started to explain, but I suppose thought better of it and stopped. "So, how's everything going?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Seems our little doggy friend has run off somewhere. Haven't seen him, have you?"

"No..." Roxas shook his head slowly, concentrating. I know that he and Sora had some sort of connection with each other that was probably similar to the sense I used earlier, but in a more limited way that would direct them to one another. But it seemed he was also turning up nothing. "That's really weird, usually I can target him pretty easily if I focus on it..."

"Yeah, same issue I had. It's...strange."

Roxas crossed his arms with a hum. "Maybe it's all the people? Interfering or something?"

I don't think he actually thought that, but I suppose it's better to assume something along those lines than contemplate Sora actually disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Olette, probably the only of her trio actually listening in, gave me a concerned head nod. "Um...everything okay?"

"Should be. But, if you happen to see a certain lover-boy in a dog mask around, tell him his date is currently waiting for him and he'd better hurry up."

She had a semi puzzled expression on her face but Roxas just waved me off. "Yeah, got it. You keep searching that way, we'll take this side."

"But Roxas, who is-"

Roxas leaned over to whisper some of my withheld information in her ear and her eyes widened. She grabbed Hayner and Pence by the arm and practically dragged them down the road. "We're on it! Let's rescue that lost puppy!"

I dodged around some of the half-chewed takoyaki that Pence hadn't quite managed to fit into his mouth and kept on my search. I got all the way to the end of this side of the food stalls and still saw absolutely no sign of him.

The more I failed to spot him, the heavier my anxiety felt in my stomach. Sora, where _are_ you? I asked an assortment of random people if they had seen anyone in a dog mask but the response was all irritatingly negative. Besides, just running from person to person will only waste time, there has to be a more effective way to get a message out. Maybe if I get up somewhere high I could do a more thorough check, but unfortunately there just weren't that many tall structures around here.

I closed my eyes and tried another sweep of the area, and while I managed to locate Xion, Namine and Ven fairly easily, they weren't who I was interested in right now. I picked up on Selphie's scent as well, noting that she was not too far away from me now, standing close to Tidus and Wakka. I assume she is busy at the moment doing Committee duties, but maybe that could actually provide the perfect solution to my problem.

I approached the three of them. While Selphie was aggressively handing out maps and fliers, Tidus and Wakka were stuck together miserably behind her, ripping at the committee stickers she had no doubt forced onto them. She charged towards me on sight, ready to hand me some sort of pamphlet.

"Hey there! You look like you need some guidance and the Greeting Committee is always ready to help! If you need a map or-"

I lifted my mask up a bit to show her my face and she immediately halted her rehearsed speech, her face twisted into a smile.

"Ooooh, it's you. _Alooone_."

By her tone, I could assume two things. One, that she is going to be a pain today and attempt to aggressively flirt with me again and possibly two, that she actually has some idea that something is meant to be happening between Sora and Kairi tonight which is why they weren't with me. I'm hoping its the latter.

She fluttered her eyelashes. "I hope you appreciate the fact that I took care of Ophelia. Let Irvine keep a _close_ eye on her so she won't be any trouble at all tonight. Do I get special brownie points for that? I certainly think so!"

"Who's in the mask this time?" Tidus leaned over, scrutinizing me carefully. "Oh, its Riku? I assume Sir Dense-a-lot is busy doing his...thing?"

Alright, Selphie definitely knows something is up, then. And helpfully filled these two in on it. "Well, unfortunately said knight went and ran off for food and never came back. I'm trying to go fetch him."

"Heh, _fetch_ , that's a good one." Wakka snickered, and was met with our silence. "Ya know, cuz he's in a dog mask?"

Yeah, we know. It just wasn't funny. But besides that, how did he know Sora was in a dog mask? Unless they ran into him?

"Did you see him today? When?"

"Yeah, earlier over by the taiyaki place." Tidus shook his head. "Pft. He probably got lost or distracted by someth-"

"How long ago was that?" I demanded sharply.

"I dunno dude, before we got roped into handing out these stupid things." He flashed the maps at me and pointed over towards a taiyaki vendor sandwiched between a cotton candy booth and a chocolate banana stall. Definitely looked like a place he would go to.

Just to be safe, I yanked one of the maps out of Selphie's hand and nabbed one of the pens she had sitting in a nearby cup, scrawling a hasty message on a blank spot of the pamphlet before handing everything back to her.

"Selphie, do you think you could do me a favor and get them to read this over the loudspeakers? Just to be on the safe side?"

She scanned my message, giggled a bit, and offered me a quick salute. "Sure thing. I assume Kairi is the bunny?"

"Yeah, thanks in advance."

I trotted off towards the stall, double checking with the vendor if he had indeed sold something to someone earlier wearing a shiba mask. With that confirmed, I started searching the ground for clues. There were far too many feet rustling through this area to reliably scan for prints, but if he got food here, that meant he would have likely taken it the shortest route towards the hill. If anything happened to him, it would have been along that path. Unless he really did just up and run off, in which case it would be much harder to find him. I checked my options, and started off towards the base of the hill, scanning everything in my path carefully, dodging as swiftly as possible through the people in my way.

I hate when he disappears on me, when I can't find him. It's not very often when that happens, so when it does it makes me incredibly uneasy. I often have a recurring nightmare like this, where I'm stumbling through an endless grove of bamboo and I can hear his cries slowly fading away as I search desperately to pull him back to me. Eventually the only sound is the clacking of the wood as the forest draws more dark and dim and empty. Every time I always wake up in a cold sweat, and any more sleep after that is out of the question. It used to happen quite frequently, which is part of the reason I'm glad Sora still pushes to stay overnight at my house all the time. When I can at least see he is alright, I can generally settle back to sleep without much trouble. I hate that interim when I lie awake, panicked, knowing he's probably fine, but not being able to confirm it yet. This is just the same, isn't it?

I had nearly made it back to the top of the hill, but nothing was amiss. Had he really not made it this far? Maybe he went in a different direction altogether. Could someone really have just absconded off with him without anyone noticing? He isn't just some lost kid, he can handle himself, so why...I turned back the way I came and made a more thorough sweep. There had to be something unusual on the way up here.

 _Bang_

The sound of another firework and I swore loudly, breaking into a run. What if there was... _another path_.

I spotted it as soon as I thought to look for it. Curving down through the forest was a very thin, mostly overgrown trail that lead more directly to the docks. I examined a few of the branches hanging over the entrance, noting a few bent twigs that indicated a somewhat recent disturbance. Bingo.

I charged down the path as fast as I was able, considering it was a fairly steep drop. It spit me out near the boat docks where they were loading up the offerings to be set on fire. The full boats were out in the center of the harbor, docked to a small floating pier, waiting for the others to eventually catch up. This had to be…

The speakers around the area squeaked to life, and one of the girls from the broadcasting club gently started speaking. "Attention all festival-goers, we have an important message to relay." She cleared her throat, and I thought I could hear the crinkling of a paper as if it was straightened out to be made more legible. "A mister...um...'Mustang...Horseman'? Has misplaced his shiba friend and hopes to be reunited back at the house where they are set to greet a 'Bunny Rose'...I repeat, if anyone sees a shiba, please direct him to go back to the house to find a Mr. Horseman and a Ms. Rose. Anyone with information on his whereabouts its greatly appreciated...Selphie, what the heck kind of messa-" The microphone clicked off with a buzz.

Sure, it might not make a lot of sense to anyone else, but if Sora heard that he would definitely understand. If he was paying attention, anyway. I scanned the crowd nearby one of the boats as they stood waiting to place their objects inside, and saw one figure that stood out from the others. Relief swept over me.

There he was. Safe, at least.

Though I have no idea why he's just getting out of the line to put offerings on the boat, I'm pretty sure he told me he wasn't going to bother with that. Of all the things to waste his time on…

I stormed over to the dock, more upset than worried now. He was standing there, staring out at the water like he was in some daze. I don't think he even knew I was coming until I was right in front of him, yanking on his arm.

"What the hell are you doing here!? You should be up-" There was something _very_ off with him. It was hard to tell what, especially with that ridiculous dog smiling back at me. "Sora, what's wrong?"

I let go of his arm and he stumbled backwards, his head shaking. "I...it's not..."

Is he nervous? What's with that reaction? Ugh, that stupid mask. I can't read him like normal when he has that on.

"Sora, take that stupid thing off for a second and talk to me." I pointed to the dog and reached for it to throw off myself but he ducked out of the way. Not about to spend a lot of time arguing this with him, I ripped mine off to show him I didn't care about being recognized right now. "What's gotten into you? Show me your face."

"I...I can't..." His voice was a little shaky, like he was trying to fight back tears.

Was he really so worked up over this that it was making him cry? I put a hand on his shoulder and he winced a bit, probably thinking I was trying to force his mask off again. But I know how he gets when he doesn't want people to see him upset.

"Sora, I don't know what you're struggling with, but up on the top of that hill, _right there_ , is a girl who means a lot to both of us who _really_ needs to talk to you about something."

He shivered a little. "But...not now..."

"Sora, it _needs_ to be now. You have three fireworks left of time. Three. And we don't even know how long those will take to go off! Didn't you have a special plan all prepared? You need time to do that and that's just not a dispensable commodity right now." He stood there, frozen. Seriously? Go! Run after her! Why is he just rooted to the spot like some stubborn old stump? "Sora, it'll be worth it, I promise."

"S-so...you do remember what I told you? About what I was going to..."

I gripped both his shoulders and shook him aggressively. "Of course I remember! And it's not _was!_ You _are_ going to have this conversation today. Right now. No excuses."

I let go of his shoulders and almost expected him to give me a hearty cheer, or a rah-rah or whatever else he always feels like doing to get himself pumped up, but…nothing.

"...I really need to talk to you first..."

I felt like smacking myself in the face. Why is he being so _difficult_? Do I have to drag him up there myself?

"Just trust me about tonight, okay? Even if you don't want to say anything to her, she definitely wants to speak to you. So, just let her have that chance, alright? The two of us can talk later. I'll meet you down here by the dock."

"O-okay..." He still seemed hesitant. And deeply unhappy. The more I stared at him the more strange he seemed, like someone had sucked the spirit right out of him.

"Do I have to drag you up there? I'm serious, by the way." I crossed my arms at him, trying to glare but finding it incredibly difficult when he already seemed so forlorn.

"N-no, I...I'll go." He started shuffling his way past me and paused. "Riku, I'm s-sorry for..."

"Save it, just go."

He lingered for another moment, choking his words back, before resignedly making his way over to the hill path.

It was most likely just his nerves getting the best of him. But I know the moment he sees her he is going to perk up, especially if she manages to get her confession out first. Which, considering how he is, is probably more likely.

Would three fireworks left of time be enough? Maybe I can go pester Selphie to come up with some reason to delay the last one at least a little bit. I turned, and almost immediately bumped into a group of girls, huddled together right behind me. The minute they saw my face, all of them squealed and started yanking at my arms. Right, I took my mask off…

Oh, hell.


	12. Kairi: Dampened Embers

It was just the two of us, alone on that hill. He was standing quite still in the shadows of the path, still wearing that silly mask of his despite the crowds being far below us. There was definitely something...different about him. But I couldn't quite tell if that was only because of my own thumping trepidation. I was about to call out, but I noticed him shake his head of whatever daydream had been plaguing him and start to jog over.

"H-hey, s-sorry I..."

I leaned towards him, arms clasped behind my back, in hopes that I could see through those tiny little eye holes. "Don't worry! I've...been thinking about a lot of things so I barely noticed." It didn't look like he had even remembered to bring food with him, but honestly I don't care about that right now.

As I reached up to finally uncover his face I felt him trembling slightly. "Are you cold?"

"No...no, I'm fine." He suddenly seemed to realize something and spun around, searching. "A-ah, oh no!" Not finding what he was looking for, he sagged.

"I-I'm sorry, I guess somehow I misplaced the food, and..." His smile was...perhaps shaky is the best word for it. Why does he keep apologizing? Something like that isn't really a big deal.

I gave him a light mocking rap on his head. "Oh, well. Maybe we can get something later. I'm actually feeling okay for right now." I pointed back towards the lighthouse bench. "Want to sit over there? We can people watch."

He seemed to perk up and walked with me towards the edge. I really wanted to reach out and grab his hand to give it a little squeeze, but maybe that was a bit too forward right now. I was now so acutely aware of how often I used to touch him and simply took that closeness for granted. I've held his hand many times before, but now the thought of it felt so much more exciting, and it would be so much...harder to follow through. A hug, a tap, any brush of his body would be so welcome right now. But he seemed so oddly to be keeping his distance.

I dropped myself down on the left side of the bench, expecting him to take his place next to me, but he instead circled around all the way to the other end, leaving a full two peoples' worth of space between us. I giggled and slid over, bumping against him. The sudden warmth of his body was just what I needed anyway.

I expected some kind of comment or at least a laugh, but he was looking lost in another reverie again.

"Geez, what's into you so suddenly?" I flicked at his head to illicit at least some sort of reaction.

He took my little finger flick without complaint and gave me a weak laugh. "Yeah, I guess I am acting a little weird, huh?" He shifted a bit uncomfortably and looked away, out at the crowds below. "Y-you really can see a lot from up here! It's crazy!"

Hmm...was he trying to change the subject on purpose? Why was he so stiff? He really wasn't acting like himself at all.

"Did something happen while you were away?"

He took a deep breath and offered another unconvincing grin. "Nope! Nothing at all!"

"... _Really_?" I twisted my body around his, trying to look right into his eyes to confirm what he was saying, but he kept trying to squirm away from me. "I don't believe you. Not until I see you smile properly."

He hesitated and I leaned across his lap, pulling at his face to try and force it into an upwards curve. He struggled a bit but I kept at it. "Sit still, I'm almost done."

My hands squishing his face finally got to be too much and... _there_ we go, that was the smile I knew. Finally!

I let go of his face, still hovering just in front of him. Whatever uneasy thing he had on his mind I wanted to push it all away. I wanted to swing my legs over and snuggle right up to him. But I realized if I didn't give him a chance to express his own feelings and just forced mine on the both of us, then I ran the risk of putting the same pressure on him that Riku had just put on me only a short while ago. I knew I had to try and use my words properly. To tell him, as directly as possible, and wait for his answer.

I slipped away, returning to my place by his side. From here, I could see the lines of the boats getting ready for me. I would have to tend to the fires for a while, reciting that old blessing over them with the cherry staff. Usually the temple priest was in charge of all the old scripture stuff, but since I was already doing the dance they figured there would be more impact for me to do it this year. And I suppose he was all too happy to have a break this year to focus on his vinegar pressing.

"Did you put anything on the boat, Sora? Anything you're trying to move on from?"

He seemed hesitant to answer and I felt a little bad for prying. I was almost worried that I'd crashed the slight good mood I'd gotten him back in, but before I could apologize he gave me a silly wink. "That's a secret!"

Ooh, now I really wanted to know! I tipped my head side to side. "...if I tell you what I put on the boat, will you at least give me a hint?"

He prodded me a little in the side. "That's a trick question, isn't it? You never burn anything."

"I changed my mind this year." I folded my hands across my lap and watched the empty space on the boats steadily begin to fill up. "Maybe it's because of all the research I had to do for the role or something, but...I decided to write a letter."

"A letter?" He blinked back at me in confusion. "Who is it for? If it's burned no one can read it, right?"

"It's for Princess Sakuya, if she's out there somewhere. I wanted to say thank you. She lost her past for all this to be here. I thought a lot about what you've told me before, and I agree. It's really sad when things end, but if we do our best to appreciate what it was, then maybe it's not all the way gone."

I felt a connection to the Volcano Princess, maybe because of that. I'd lost all the memories of my first home, but because that chapter of my life ended, I was able to come here. I was able to be a part of their lives. I wonder if she would have felt the same way as I did. I miss the idea of what my parents must have been. What their faces could have looked like. The kind of person they would have wanted to see me become. And while I can't really ever know those answers, I know whatever pieces of them that they passed down to me are inside of my heart, always.

He hummed and turned his eyes out over the ocean with a slightly wistful sigh. "Yeah...you're right. No matter what, those memories will always be there." His eyes glanced back at me, carrying a somewhat heavy sadness inside of them. "I'll...always remember the memories I have of you."

I appreciated the sentiment, of course, but why did he have to say it with such a heavy finality? "I'm not going anywhere, Sora."

I poked that little space behind his ear and he immediately started to laugh, wiggling away from me. "I know! I was just-"

I gave him a devilish smile and began a full-out assault, brushing my fingers against all his weak spots."H-hey, wait a minute!"

He struggled to hold my hands back but I only stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed, and tried to go on the offensive, snaking one of his hands underneath my arm. I realized that I had quite a few open spots for him to go for considering this outfit wasn't the most practical one, thanks Selphie. She had been the one to insist on making it as _alluring_ as possible. Blegh. I saw him reach towards my side, but I twisted away and twiddled my fingers up his side just under his arm.

"Ka-Kairi, s-stop, it's too-" He shrank back, his face struggling to hold back his laughter. Finally breaking his hand free from under my grip, he lunged for me again. I pulled back, and knew he was going to get me this time. But I kinda...sorta... _really_ wanted him to.

"No way, I'm keeping it up until you give me a hint about what you picked this year!" I teased, bracing myself for his attack.

His hand froze before he could touch me, his face suddenly swept with that same lingering concern from before. That was so odd, usually he loved to take the advantage in a tickle fight when he could get it; he hated losing them.

 _Bang_.

That was five.

The firework caught both of our attention and we gazed up at the stream of color falling down over the ocean. He released my wrists and abruptly stood up from the bench, walking over towards the railing. His whole aura felt...damp? He was obviously very troubled about something, and I guess really wasn't in the mood for tickles and jokes.

"Sora, um…" I slowly approached him, laying my hand on his arm as gently as possible. Maybe I really should just stop dodging around what I really wanted to say, but Riku was so, so right: telling him this...it's hard. I also felt bad if me asking about what he was burning had upset him somehow. "I'm sorry, if you want to keep it a secret, that's fine."

"I...it's not that, I just..." He fiddled with the railing rope. "You know what? It's fine, don't worry about it." The stiffness in his voice was so unnatural.

I missed the Sora I knew. Where was he hiding? What unseen problem were the two of us dancing around? It was like we were standing on two islands set across a stormy sea, with no bridge to connect them, the true meaning of what we wanted to say blown across the winds with only the barest of words coming through.

If I confessed to him now, would my Sora come back to me? I can feel his heart is there, but it's hiding, afraid, only sometimes braving a peek out at me, like the blue sky on a stormy day.

He gave me another concerning, worry-laced smile. "You know, I'm sure she's going to appreciate your letter a whole lot, if it's anything like your other ones."

I felt my face warming a little, remembering how he went out and got a cute frame to put the letter I sent him and had it propped up on his dresser. He told me it was one of his most cherished belongings, which was...a pretty big compliment. Maybe he hadn't planned on telling me that, but I guess once I had spotted it that time I came over to fetch him he didn't really have much choice.

"I'm sure whatever you put in there is just as good!" I gave him a little elbow nudge and he chuckled back but I could tell he really didn't want to talk about it.

"Maybe. But it's not as considerate as yours. I hope the Princess won't be too angry with me."

He deserved a nose bop for that silly statement. "If there is a spirit, she'd definitely be quite fond of you."

"Why's that?"

"Because, well..." The warmth in my face spread and I turned my eyes the other way. It was really tempting just to blurt out 'because _I'm_ supposed to be her tonight and _I_ like you!' or something equally cheesy but I couldn't bring myself to actually say a thing like that. It felt like just as the idea of the right words started forming on my tongue, it dropped like a dead weight in my mouth. But I had to try.

"Because, I...I'm her tonight, right? And you're..." I panicked. "Y-you'll always be special to me." I kicked myself in my head. That wasn't direct at all! I think he appreciated my answer, but clearly didn't pick up on my implication.

"Thanks. Do you mind if I take a little walk?" He squeezed my arm a moment before getting up and strolling slowly along the path that circled the lighthouse hill. It was mostly overgrown, but not too much that it impeded some light travel.

Still...it almost seemed tonight like every time I got too close to him he would try to wander off again to put distance back between us. But there wasn't time for that, was there? Just two more fireworks, and they could come at any time. I needed to force this out of myself one way or the other...

I followed quickly. He seemed content enough to have my company, but…it wasn't really like him to be this quiet. It was obvious there was something still on his mind. I'm not sure if I should pry, or give him a little space. It's rare for him to not immediately open up about his problems, so I actually have no idea how to handle it.

All I knew was I definitely couldn't stand this silence, this unnatural distance between us, much longer.

All I wanted to was to be closer to him again.

All I had to do was speak.

"Sora…?" I reached forward to grab his hand but my toe caught on an errant string of ivy and I stumbled into him with a tiny yelp. He gripped my shoulders, helping to steady me until I could untangle my foot again.

"T-thanks, I..." As I regained my balance he nodded and suddenly let go, resuming his walk, leaving me stunned behind him. His actions were stiff, almost ceremonial, like he was only allowing himself the barest minimum of contact with me. Like he was too afraid to allow a second more. He made it only a few steps away from me before I charged after him, clutching his hand desperately.

"Sora, please. I-I need to...this is important." I had so many mixed up feelings inside it felt like I was going to burst any minute.

I felt him tense a little under my fingers, but he didn't pull away. There was a moments hesitation, then he turned to face me, giving my hand a small squeeze back.

"This really isn't something I could ever run from...even if I wanted to, is it?" He said so quietly I almost couldn't hear. Something in those words made my stomach feel hollow. Before I could ask, he flashed me a quick grin and another squeeze. "Because you're too stubborn to let me go, right?"

"Wh..." I was so utterly confused. He was trying to make a joke, right? Or...

He took a deep breath, smiled, and bounced up and down a few times up on his toes like he was trying to psych himself up for something. "Sorry for being dumb back there. I promised I'd be there for you, no matter what! And when I make a promise, I keep it! S-so..." His energy dimmed, and I could see him struggling to keep that radiant smile on his face. A smile that suddenly seemed like far too heavy of a burden for one person to carry. "S-so let's hear it."

Everything was so confusing, but I could only hope that if I told him the truth his warmth would come back. It's all I wanted right now. I had so much to say, but not enough time to say it. I opened my mouth, and decided to try and let my heart do the talking.

"There's something very important I realized tonight, but I'm finding it hard to tell you."

He swallowed heavily, but nodded, letting me continue. This was...difficult.

"I've...been really selfish this whole time, haven't I?" I released his hand back to him.

"Selfish? What are you talking about? You're always trying to consider other people!"

I still felt incredibly guilty, thinking back on all the things I did without realizing that it would have made Riku want to pursue a relationship with me, and all the obvious signs of my own feelings for Sora that I should have understood sooner. I just suppressed any thought of romance that even when all the clues were right up in my face I looked right past them. It was like I had spent my entire life gazing through a stained glass window, nose pressed up so close I never realized the tinted hue filling my vision was only one part of a whole unexplored tapestry of color.

"Maybe selfish is the wrong word. Naive? About the relationship that I have with you and with Riku. I...I only recently realized..." My voice squeaked a bit in fear, and I clutched at my necklace to try and calm myself down. "I realized that maybe I wasn't being honest with myself. About our friendship. About...my feelings."

He started fiddling nervously, picking at his jacket. "Kairi, listen...I know what this is about, and-"

I shook my head desperately. He couldn't possibly know! I only just realized it! "Wait, please let me finish. I...I think I was just too scared that if anything changed between the three of us, I would lose one of you forever. That made it hard for me to see everything clearly. Maybe that was what was keeping me in denial that anything _could_ be...different."

Through all my panic and reservation, I looked up and saw the twinkle of his old self in his eye, the sky peeking out from beyond the clouds and I immediately relaxed. Everything was going to be okay.

"Kairi, just like I told you before: I'm not leaving you. Not ever. I meant it then and I still mean it now so don't let that worry you. Also, I don't think you understanding more about your heart and who you want to let into it is wrong. Just because you didn't figure it out sooner doesn't mean you were being selfish about it. It's hard to know, sometimes."

He said this so casually I was almost taken aback. I felt a wave of confidence take me, and I prepared to step off over the edge into sheer free fall.

"But Sora, I really do think I know now. I know where my heart belongs." I really wanted to look at him, but everything inside was pounding so heavily I could only close my eyes and focus on taking deep breaths.

"And you'll be...happy with that choice?"

Why did he sound so sad? I reopened my eyes and saw that he was staring not at me, but up at the broken lighthouse just to my right.

"Of course I will be! At least, I hope to be. I can't know the future, but I'd choose the same way again every time. I know that now! Sora, I-"

 _Bang._

The sixth firework startled me so much I shrieked, cutting myself off. I glanced hesitantly up at his face, wondering if he understood anyway.

"Kairi, that's..." He was just standing there, smiling weakly down at me. "That's...good."

I just stood there, feeling like the breath was knocked out of my body.

...Good? That's what he has to say? It was so...lackluster. Maybe he really didn't understand what I was trying to say after all. I really did need to be more direct about it. But something about this whole situation felt all...wrong. Normally when we were alone together there was such a warm glowing light between us. But today it was like we were two damp matches in a damp cave struggling to find a spark. Maybe he's not feeling too well and is trying to toughen it out like Riku does.

"Sora...it's okay to tell me if you aren't feeling alright. You're not yourself and I'm worried!"

He grabbed my hands suddenly, clutching them tightly to his chest and I blushed at the sudden intimacy. "Kairi, I want you to be happy. If you're happy, I'll be okay."

So he _was_ feeling sick and trying to hide it from me? I frowned. I always hated when those two would just throw their own well being to the side for my sake. I yanked my hands back and forth, shaking him with me. "Just _tell_ me! How can I be happy if you're suffering?"

He gave me his best smile, but I could still tell it wasn't earnest. "Kairi, I know things might not be exactly the same in the future any more but the three of us will make it through okay. It just might take some...time for all of us to adjust properly. Right?"

I suppose that's true? I nodded slowly, and he let me reclaim my hands. Why did it feel like I was talking in circles? Were my emotions making everything too muddled? Did he get what I was saying or not? I'm not really sure. Maybe I should just tell him more clearly to be absolutely certain.

"You do...understand, don't you? Riku and I had a...talk, earlier."

Sora nodded, a bit absentmindedly.

"And...he told me that I needed to be honest with you about the new feelings I discovered."

He said nothing, which only made me more unnerved.

"T-the truth is, I...found the person I like, Sora. And...he was right next to me this whole time." I barely managed to gasp the words out, my whole body feeling hot and dizzy. I closed my eyes, took a few breaths and kept pushing through my stumbling thoughts. "Sora, the person I like is-"

Before I could finish, I felt him wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. I sighed into his embrace, expecting that same warm rush I get whenever he touches me.

But it again felt so different this time. Usually Sora hugs were the most calming, comforting thing in the world. Today it was just making my insides feel all twisted up and painful. There was a strong, pinging sorrow deep inside my chest, almost like something inside of me was crying. Something wet brushed my shoulder. Was it...rain?

I tried to lift my head up to check on the sky, but he only gripped me tighter. "Kairi, I know. You don't have to...don't say it."

"But..."

"Please. Please, don't say it."

Why did he sound so...broken? This wasn't the reaction I wanted. Not at all. "...A-are you sad? Sora, I..."

"...I want to be happy, I really do. I just...right now it's...I..." I heard his voice crack, and another splash of that same water as before. And I realized just what it was. It wasn't rain.

Sora was crying.

I felt like I just stepped into a freezer. He...he rarely ever…

I tried to pull out of the hug to check but he just held me tighter against him, refusing to let me see.

"I...appreciate your honesty, though. Admitting this must have been...hard."

Something in his tone worried me. All of my limbs were going numb. I don't think I could even feel half my body anymore, and not just because he was squeezing me so tightly, but because it was like the limbs simply stopped responding.

"Kairi, I'm still going to be here for you. I made that promise and I'm going to keep it. I just...I need time to deal with this."

No. No, no, no. Please, I...

"I'm so sorry, Kairi. But the truth is..."

Please, Sora, d-don't say…

"The truth is...accepting this now?...I can't."

 _Bang._

As beautiful as fireworks were, they really were quite dangerous. That shattering sound that had only briefly ago exposed the feelings of my inner heart, now felt like it was ripping me apart. This horrible, sinking feeling, like my body was nothing but my heart was crumbling to pieces. Was _this_ what it felt like to be rejected?

I felt hot tears swelling up into my eyes. How _horrible_. All of those people I caused to suffer this… what a cruel and terrible thing I've caused for so many.

I must deserve this, for all that I've done. It really is a fitting punishment. All the hearts I must have broken, it's only fair that mine should be one of them as well.

My throat felt like it had swollen shut, and I could only choke on my own breath as all those sweet memories of him flooded into my eyes, bringing the tears with them.

But I couldn't cry. Not now. I know how it feels to turn someone down, to feel the guilt that comes with it. I'm sure that's why he's been so…

If he saw this coming, then that's why he wanted to run.

Because he never wanted to hurt me.

I was still getting chills prickling across my skin from the shock, but I finally managed to get my breath under control enough to gasp something out. "Th-thank you for being honest w-with me."

I felt him release me from his hug and he quickly turned away, wiping at his face. I stumbled backwards across the grass, my legs somehow weakly carrying me over to one of the benches.

He turned, a bit startled and tried to rush over to help me, but I held up my hand. "N-no, I'm...I'm alright."

He seemed hesitant to look exactly in my direction and I knew it was because he hated to see me upset, and my face was probably only causing him grief right now. I did my best to try and settle into the most neutral expression I could manage, but I knew I couldn't hold it for very long.

He dug the toe of his shoe into the dirt. "Hey, um...maybe I'll go see if I can find Riku, okay? D-did you want to go see him?"

I took a deep breath. Not exactly, no.

But even if I did want to, that wouldn't make a difference. That last firework made seven, and number seven was my signal to return. I shivered, feeling colder than ever. The last thing I wanted to do now was go back down to the water.

I stood from the bench shakily. "...I have to go. The boats, remember?"

"R-right. Are you going to be okay? Do you need help getting down there?" He offered his hand but I turned it away with a shake of my head. He seemed incredibly distressed still and I don't blame him. It was obvious he couldn't stand seeing me so upset, yet at the same time not really being able to do much to make it any better. He's never really been in that situation before with me, and he's floundering. He's always only ever wanted to help me.

I started making my way back down towards the tunnel, thinking to glance back at him over my shoulder. He was standing there, looking more forlorn than I've ever seen him before. What had I done wrong? Was I too forward? Or maybe he simply didn't like me in that way.

All his kindness, all the love he shared with me was never meant to be anything more.

I gave him an attempt at a cheery wave, but I don't think I really convinced him of anything. He gave me an equally unconvincing one back and I turned away, making my way down to the dark waters below.

With each heavy step I took down to the shore I felt my breath catching more and more in my throat until I couldn't stop the tears from pouring down my face. I choked on them, trying desperately to wipe them away with the inside of my sleeve. It was salty. Salty and bitter.

My heel caught on the stone and I teetered sideways, scraping my arm against the rough stone wall of the tunnel, sobbing heavily. But the sting of that pain was nothing. I wept uncontrollably against the chill of that rock, feeling its cold seeping into me, desperately trying to suck me into its grasp.

The voice in my head belted out its cry, begging me to run back to him. I smacked the wall with my hand, clinging to it as my legs gave out beneath me, sliding to the dirty ground.

I wanted to be his light. I wanted to be the one to make him smile. I wanted to share everything with him. But if he doesn't want that, then…

Everything will have to return back to the way it was.

Yet somehow I knew it couldn't. Not really. He said so himself.

I had been so frightened of letting anything change, refusing to let anything die, that I had smothered it all to dust.

This tunnel was so dark. So empty and lonely. I could _never_ let this be my future.

I can't say what will come. Yet I know deep down I have always loved him, and I always will, in some way. I may have to accept a future where I am not the one in his heart, but I will _not_ accept one without him at all. He was absolutely right about that, too.

I shakily gripped the wall as I stood, and made my way down to the bottom of the steps, where the cherry blossom staff was waiting where I had left it.

As soon as I wrapped my hand around it, I clutched it tightly to my chest. To treasure those we love, and support them through any hardship. To protect the preciousness of life, even if it means standing against death itself. To never give up on the new dawn that will always come.

That is the hope I will strive to carry with me, always.


	13. Sora: Silence

Everything comes with an opposite. The day fading into night, those times we laugh so hard that we cry, the light...and the shadows it casts behind it. Every end is just a beginning. It's only ever an end if that's where you stop looking. The constant presence of opposites is sometimes a comfort to me, though.

Volcanoes might seem scary because they can destroy so much, but they're the reason we can live here today. Even as everyone stares out at those burning fires on the water, feeling the heat as it crumbles down to ash, I think we all can somewhat agree that it isn't really over. No matter what has been set ablaze, be it good or bad, it will always be a part of our history. Life is made up of all kinds of things.

Wherever there is despair or ruin, we can always find hope and try to create something stronger for the future. But darkness is really sticky sometimes, like that annoying thin plastic they wrap around stuff that weirdly clings to your hand no matter how furiously you try to shake it off. It's hard to remove by yourself. And sometimes it might make us feel better in our moments of weakness to give up, forget that good things exist, and linger among the sorrow, but that other half of life is always there, waiting for us to come back.

Some people like to say I'm always naive and don't take enough seriously. But I know. I know everything can't always be happy. But I also know that not everything always has to be sad, either. Because someone experiencing only one half of everything...they would be missing an awful lot of the world out there!

I know it's hard. But those hard times aren't endless.

Some day the fire will cool, and those ashes might become the soil to help new plants sprout.

I could see so many people from up here, by this broken lighthouse that lingered through the changing times. And she waved that staff over all of them, reciting lines from that stuffy poetry that also remained from the past. I never really understood the meaning of those old words. But at least I think I know what she was telling me earlier.

She's fallen in love, and doesn't want me to fade into just a memory. I...feel like an idiot for not noticing earlier, but...

Her new beginning is going to start. And I'll do what I can to help those fresh flowers grow up from the ashes. Though, I've never been too good with plants, have I?

I laughed out loud, tears choking me back into silence before burying my head in my arms. This hurts. This hurts so much, still...

I can't handle this alone.


	14. Riku: Finding Answers

I'm going to kill him. I'm going to absolutely kill him.

Kairi was still prodding at her lunch, looking dejected and miserable. There's no way I can just keep sitting here like this. I stood up, ready to begin racking up his death count, but she caught my arm and forced me back down to the bench.

"Riku, for the last time, it's fine..."

It certainly _isn't_ fine. He hadn't even come to school today. Probably knew once I found out about what happened I was going to smite him into oblivion. I had a feeling something was wrong when everything wrapped up yesterday and there was no sign of either of them. And, as far as I was aware, Sora didn't even go home last night.

The first half of today was already torture enough. She refused to talk to me the first two class periods, running off to the bathroom the minute the bell rang. After period three I finally forced it out of her, and was rewarded with fifty minutes of hell watching her shakily fight back tears right in front of me while having to dodge the glares of all the classmates who thought it was my fault somehow. I refuse to sit through another lecture like that.

"Kairi, why would he reject you? It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe because he just doesn't like me!" Kairi's hand rattled and one of her chopsticks fell to the ground. I scooped it back up for her and she just sighed shakily. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just getting sick of answering questions about it..."

I lifted her untouched lunchbox up out of her lap and snapped it closed. "Listen, that's exactly why it doesn't make any sense. I know how he feels."

She rubbed at the hem of her skirt, pinching the fabric between her fingers. "Y-you could have been wrong."

I stared at her sharply and she flushed a little, turning away.

"W-well then he just changed his mind or something. I don't know!"

I rubbed at my temple with a heavy sigh. This really wasn't what I expected to have to deal with. Ever. "What did you say he told you? That he needed more time to process things? As far as I know he never outright denied that he liked you, correct? Just that he needed space to think about it?"

She considered my words carefully before nodding towards her lap. But what could he possibly need to think about? He's been pining over her for _years_. Probably forever. I would have much faster believed that he outright fainted after hearing her spill her heart out to him than that he ran away from it all.

I frowned. Sora surprised me all the time, but never in a bad way before. This is definitely a first, which leads me to believe there has to be something more to it. "Look, I can't just sit here and see you like this. I'm going to go knock some sense into him."

Kairi tucked her lunchbox back into her bag and gathered it up over her shoulder with a resigned huff. "Well, if you insist on going then I am, too! I don't need you two starting a big fight over this."

I knew not to cross her when her eyes glinted back at me like that. I grabbed up my bag and stormed off, straight towards his house. If he wasn't home now, I'm sure he checked in with his mom before leaving. She always got so anxious these days, not that I blame her. But he had made a promise to keep her at least somewhat informed about his whereabouts and he tends to stick to those promises fairly rigidly.

I tried not to draw attention to myself, but it was hard to keep myself from stomping. I jammed my hand into my pocket to try and calm myself down. I checked back on Kairi, still shuffling behind me without a word.

I ducked behind a nearby tree and got a quick peek at his window, wondering if I might catch a glimpse of him without him noticing our approach. The window over his bed was thrown open, curtains dancing in the warm noon wind but his room lay empty and silent beyond them. Probably not home then. I made my way to the front door and rapped my knuckles against it sharply. I heard his mom call out as she scurried to open it for us.

"Oh! Riku...and Kairi, too!" Her surprise quickly replaced by joy as she rushed forward, wrapping me up in a hug that knocked me a bit off balance. It was obvious where Sora got his...cuddliness from. "I'm so glad you two aren't fighting after all! Oh!" She clamped her hands down over her mouth. "But I'm not really supposed to say anything about it, am I?"

A fight? What...with me? She obviously knew something, and I was hoping to pry it out of her.

I shrugged. "We generally always patch things up fairly quickly, right? I was...hoping to apologize today. Any idea where I could find him?"

She looked torn about what to say. "Well, he told me to keep it a secret from you..."

Aha. This shouldn't be too hard.

"I know, but how can I apologize if I don't know where he is? You'd be doing us both a huge favor."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before fluffing her hands through her apron. "Oh, _alright_. I can't stand you two having a disagreement. He said he and Roxas were going to 'the castle' of some sort. I assume you know what that would be."

Perfectly easy to manipulate into fessing up. Yeah, Sora got a _lot_ from his mom. "Thanks."

I would have expected him to go to Roxas, but not that they would have gone off to visit somewhere other than the clubhouse. "Castle" could also refer to quite a number of places, but it certainly narrowed things down a bit.

His mom patted me on the shoulder before wrapping me in another hug. "Ooh, I'm so glad everything will work itself out. He seemed so sad last night, but I suppose he never stays that way for too long after all. My sweet little boys..."

She gave me one more tight snuggle before releasing me again. "Oh, and Kairi, I didn't forget about you!" Now it was Kairi's turn to get aggressively cuddled. "You were so, _so_ lovely last night. I hope you enjoyed his gift, it was all he could talk about for weeks!"

I saw the look of confusion that passed across Kairi's face.

"Ah...um..."

His mom stuttered a bit and bit her lip. "Oh dear...I hope I didn't-oh just ignore me, I'm obviously being all scatterbrained again!"

"N-no! You didn't spoil anything, don't worry!" Luckily, his mom didn't seem quite as able to spot when Kairi was telling an absolute lie.

"Can I see it? I've been so curious but he refused to let anyone look and kept it buried under his bed in a pile of shirts!"

She must have been sneaking a few peeks if she knew exactly where he was hiding it. Regardless, I decided to rescue Kairi from this potentially awkward situation.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we only have a little bit of time left on our lunch break and we should be heading back to school now. Thanks for your help again."

His mom waved us off, checking the time. "Of course, of course! I'll see you the next time you come around for dinner, then!"

Kairi was still looking a bit dazed, so I helped guide her back to the path towards school, pulling her to a stop at the crossroads sign that I felt was a safe enough distance from his house to have a discussion without his mom overhearing anything.

So. Sora had made Kairi a present, but hadn't given it to her. His mom was convinced that the two of us were having a fight over something. Then, he decided to run off with Roxas to a castle rather than say a word to me.

I noticed Kairi glancing up at me hesitantly. "Riku... _did_ you two have a fight about something last night?"

"Not that I know of. Though he did say he wanted to talk to me, then never showed up."

She seemed even more agitated. "And...he certainly never gave me anything."

It felt like there was something incredibly obvious I was overlooking, but I couldn't put my finger on what it could be. "Was there anything he seemed troubled about in particular while you two were talking?"

She paced back and forth, pulling at her hair. "Well he was already clearly upset about something before we even started our conversation. I tried cheering him up but nothing really stuck. The only thing he seemed particularly bothered by before I told him I..." She gulped her words down. "He didn't seem to like it when I asked him about what he was putting on the boat."

That's true, that was very strange. Normally he just did something silly or just forgot about it until it was too late to put anything on. This year he was quite adamant with me that he wasn't participating. Yet, there he was in the line...

What could have _changed_ between our conversation at the festival and when I found him there on the docks? Because he was perfectly normal before he ran off for food I can only assume it was something that happened to him during that period of time he was alone.

"Something about this whole situation feels..." I couldn't pinpoint the right word for it. _Off_.

This was a puzzle that I needed to solve, yet was almost dreading the answer. Maybe deep down inside I already knew what it was, but was trying to will myself not to consider it. After all, if I properly lined up all the clues there were several facts I couldn't ignore. One, as he ran off to get food he was perfectly happy. Two, Tidus and Wakka had seen him get food, and didn't comment on him seeming off, so that meant whatever upset him must have happened on his way back up the hill. Three, he never made it back to the hill top. Instead, I had to find him at the docks looking dejected and miserable. What had he said to me when I asked him to talk to her? " _Not now_."

 _Now_. That was the part that bothered me. A dark pit of concern burrowed itself through my core. I really did know the answer this whole time, didn't I? I just refused to accept that I...

But there really can be no other answer...can there?

Kairi must have noticed a look on my face because she gripped at my arm in agitation. "What is it?...Riku? What is going on?"

"Kairi...I think...ugh..." I couldn't stand still, my feet pacing back and forth and I raked my hands through my hair, pulling at it. I'm so stupid. So, so, stupid. I can't...

I spun around to face Kairi, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her a little in desperation. "I need you to think very, very carefully before you answer, okay? Did you ever say, explicitly, that you liked _him_?"

She blinked back at me, baffled. "I...I tried to. He didn't let me."

"But what did you manage to say!?" She winced at the volume of my voice and I hastily apologized, releasing her shoulders to step away.

"I can't remember, exactly." Closing her eyes she sucked in a gulp of fresh air and held it for a moment before slowly releasing it as a long sigh. "I said that I had realized my true feelings. I discovered that the person I like has been next to me the whole time but I had been too blind to see it until now. I tried saying his name but there was a firework and then he begged me to stop, and..."

I slumped against the crossing sign. Her words were just vague enough, that if he really did see...if he had heard...

To him, her words would have only confirmed that horribly wrong misconception as truth. This was all my fault. It was the only thing that made sense. How can I possibly fix something like this!?

"Riku, what is this about!? Tell me!" She yanked at my arm harder.

As much as I really didn't want to say it out loud, I knew I had to.

"Kairi, he...he must have seen me when I tried to..."

She froze, her whole face whitening. "Y-you mean he thought we...b-but we didn't!"

I punched my fist backwards into the side of sign. "He must not have seen everything! What if he came back just as I was confessing to you? Maybe he..."

"But even if he only saw a little, I _told_ him how I felt! How could he mix that up!?"

I smacked the post again and slid down into the dirt, feeling more low than I have in a long time. "Kairi, that whole time he thought you were talking about me."

"What!? No...how could..."

"You never explicitly said his name, right? You told him you figured out who you like, and it was someone you had been close to but now you knew you felt differently about them. If just minutes earlier he thinks we were kissing then how do you think that looks!?" I cursed loudly and unapologetically into the air, folding myself inwards. "That's why he refused to let you continue. He didn't think he could handle hearing you say directly that you liked _me_."

"H-he...he had such sadness in his eyes. He asked me if my choice made me happy, and...I said, I s-said...I'd n-never choose differently." Kairi collapsed into the grass, her whole body trembling. "That's why he was crying..."

Everything inside of me felt like it was being sucked down into the earth. How much pain his heart would have been in to hear something like that, and think she was essentially turning him down for good.

Kairi scrabbled across the ground towards me, yanking at my arm. "We have to tell him the truth! Right now!"

"It isn't obvious where he is. All we know is he is with Roxas at a castle, probably trying to get advice. And that could come from any number of people. He usually asks me for help first, but he obviously can't go to me now, since I'm the jerk."

The tears had completely dried off of Kairi's face, and she pulled at me with her entire body. "Riku, get up! Now! We're going to get him. We'll search every castle if we have to!" I let her pull me to my feet. "He was trying so hard to be happy and support me, but the whole time he was just breaking inside! I can't let him feel that way any longer, not when I can-"

"Kairi, I need to go get him alone."

"No! Absolutely, no! How could I possibly-" She started trying to run down the road but I grabbed her firmly about the wrist.

"His issue right now is with me. I need to settle things with him about what happened that night. I need to talk to him about that, without you there. Once I make sure he understands, I'm not sure how he's going to react, but I'll drag him back here kicking to see you if I have to."

"But..."

"Kairi, if nothing else I doubt seeing us together is going to make him comfortable. In fact, if he saw us coming he'd probably run."

She stared at me with that pure fiery determination of hers. "I understand why you feel that way, but if I see him back here before you I am going to confront him about it myself."

I took her deal as fast as I could. "Fine. You stay here and keep an eye out for him. I'll track him down out there."

I raced away before she could say anything else. It was a shot in the dark, but I had a feeling I might know which castle to try first.

* * *

I gave the grounds a quick sweep with my senses, but found no clear sign of either Roxas or Sora outside. It was fairly sleepy out at the castle in the mid afternoon, it seems. Ven and Terra were knocking each other around over in the training grounds but otherwise there was a thick tranquil silence hanging over everything. I let them be and went towards the staircase. No sign of Aqua, the one I figured who would be most likely to know if anything was going on. I suppose it wouldn't hurt just to check inside quickly then see if I can't pull some information out of those two if that turns up nothing.

I made it about half way up the stairs before noticing a calm presence approaching from behind me, like a rainstorm. I stopped and turned to acknowledge her.

"You won't find them here." She called out. Aqua had that same concerned, almost motherly look in her eyes. No doubt Sora's already discussed some things with her.

I held up my hands quickly as she climbed the stairs towards me. "Look, before you say anything I just want to establish that this is an incredibly frustrating misunderstanding."

"I had a feeling it would be."

She's not too happy with me. "I don't know what he's told you, but-"

"Enough to know you did something rather stupid yesterday."

I just sighed and dropped down to the steps, bracing my forehead in my hand. "Yeah. I did."

"So...where lies the misunderstanding?" She settled down at my side. "I take it that you and Kairi aren't actually stealing kisses when you're alone together?"

"Ugh..." I felt like I could just sink into the ground and die. "No. No we aren't."

"Now what has me curious is why he would even think such a thing."

I really didn't want to tell her. But I suppose it wouldn't really help _not_ telling her. She probably knew where the two of them went and would protect that secret until she was sure I wasn't about to go start more trouble.

"...because I tried to."

Aqua hummed and crossed her arms, her disapproval deepening. "I see."

"I'm not proud of it. I wish I could take it back. And not just because Kairi soundly rejected me on the spot; I knew she would."

She thwacked me on the back of the head. "Then why did you do it?"

I barely even winced. "At the time I was wrestling with a lot of lingering feelings I used to have for her. I thought if she rejected me officially I could soundly move on. I convinced myself that was what I needed to do, until I was actually doing it. Then something inside felt...wrong. With a clearer head I realized all those feelings came back not because I was swept up in romance, but more that I was..."

She let out a puff of breath and interrupted me. "Afraid of what your role would be should the two of them get together? Clinging to something you thought would keep them from leaving you behind?"

I dropped my hand away from my face, nodding slowly. She's pretty reliably observant herself. "Right on all counts. I think I just...panicked."

She sighed again, and rubbed my back. "It's a perfectly valid fear. All of them are. But you really should have just said something earlier. I'm sure Sora noticed you were unhappy."

"He did."

"And…?"

"Like you said: I was stupid. He kept trying to force it out of me but I just couldn't really admit anything. I convinced myself it would make him angry with me."

She stopped rubbing and gave my shoulder a soft pat. "As if he would have been angry with you over that. Are you feeling any better about it now?"

"I'll feel better once I know Sora is okay and...doesn't absolutely hate me."

"He'll be fine. I don't really think he is even all that angry now. When he came to us he was only asking around for advice. He also mentioned it would be quite hypocritical to get mad at you for not being able to hold back your feelings for Kairi when he's having trouble doing the same now. As he put it 'if they're happy, I want to find a way to be happy with it too'."

"Ugh..." I slumped down again. Way to make me feel like even more of a scum bag.

"Don't worry. I told him to just give it a bit of time, calm down, then discuss it with you one on one when he felt ready. Ven had other plans. Like typical boys, all of them decided the best thing to do was punch the stress out of each other and started messing around in the training grounds. No offense, of course. If it works, it works. I left them to it just a bit ago."

"I only saw Ven and Terra."

She frowned. "Hmm. Must have only just left, then." She stood up and briskly walked over to the other stairs towards the green, calling down to her two friends below. "Ven! Terra! Where did the other two head off to?"

I heard Ven's voice echo back up. "Headed back to Twilight Town, why?"

"Just curious, thank you!"

I heard a bit of mumbling in their direction, but they were too far away to really make out what they were saying to each other. She must have heard, because she rolled her eyes and waved it off.

"I take it you'll be heading that way as well? I assume you want to handle it alone?" She rested her hand on my shoulder again, I think just to check that I was alright.

I nodded. "Sorry. But thank you for the talk."

"Of course. But you need to learn to manage that insecurity of yours. It won't do you any favors in the future."

"...I'll keep an eye on it." She was right, but rather than worry about myself, I mostly just wanted to get my friend back. Especially before he darted off somewhere else.

"He won't leave you behind."

She was definitely right about that, too.

* * *

I started by checking out the clubhouse, but it was solemnly lying empty. I opened the dresser drawer, noting that some of Sora's spare clothes were missing. Must have stayed here the night before. Where else would they go in town? Maybe the clock tower? The town was drifting through such a lazy Monday that I felt almost jealous so many people could be relaxing free of worry right now.

I jumped the rope that tried in vain to keep people from heading up to the top of the station to do a quick check of the landing.

As soon as I walked out into the light I noticed a large shadow sliding across the corner of my eye and I swiftly stepped away from whatever was charging towards me. Xion flopped down at my feet, having just failed in what I can only assume was an attempted sneak attack. I was about to bend down and help her up when she lifted her head up off the ground and yelled.

"Now! Get him!"

I felt something loosely snag me around the center of my body, trapping my arms at my sides. I glanced down to see a very neatly woven chain of flowers wrapped around me. What the hell? I checked over my shoulder to see one end of the chain held by Namine, the other, Lea.

It would have been stupidly easy to just rip the flowers apart but something tells me that demonstrating man vs nature isn't the point of this. Xion dusted herself off and I focused my attention back to her.

"Mind explaining what this thing is about?" I plucked at the flower rope and felt it tighten slightly around me.

She crossed her arms and glared. "The flower test."

...excuse me? "Look, I really don't have time for this right n-"

"Well, unfortunately for you, you're going to have to make time." I heard Lea quipping behind me and I sighed. Alright, then. Either Sora or Roxas has already filled these guys in on everything and they're acting as another gatekeeper like Aqua before they'll tell me where those two are hiding. They probably guessed I would check for him up here and were waiting with this little ambush.

"Since it seems I have no choice, what is the flower test?"

I heard Namine speak up just behind me. "This is woven together using several flowers. We ask you questions and if we think you're telling the truth we'll pick one of the flowers off. Tell enough truths and the rope will unravel and set you free."

It sounded like something she would have dreamed up. Again, there was nothing stopping me from just ripping it apart right now, but the point wasn't the strength of the rope, but unraveling potential deceit and building a stronger foundation of trust with someone you have doubts about. Were I to just snap this rope it would probably do far more irreparable damage to my relationships with the three of them than anything else.

"Fine. But the minute this rope comes off you're telling me where he is."

Xion leaned against the side of the clock tower wall, her eyes scanning me up and down. "He was really sad. It was easy to tell, you know."

"I see."

She furrowed her brow and stomped towards me. "So are you just a jerk, or what?"

I sighed. What a fantastic question to start off with. And here I thought they were actually going to be practical, _answerable_ ones. "All of this is a big misunder-"

Lea mumbled something and I heard the sound of chewing. I glanced back to see him holding his end of the rope lazily with one hand while he was indulging in some pastry. Glad to see he was taking this so seriously.

"What was that?"

He swallowed. "I said, answer the question."

Ugh... "Yes. I'm a jerk."

"That's one truth!" Xion chirped happily and plucked one of the small white flowers off the rope, but it held just as firm as before.

Namine leaned over into my peripheral vision to ask next question. "Riku, did you...did you really try to kiss Kairi?"

I inwardly winced. If only she had phrased that one slightly differently. I don't suppose that's something I can really complain about, and if I only answer the question I want instead of the question they asked it might just raise suspicion.

I gave Namine a pained nod. "...I tried, but-"

Xion gasped and balled up a small green checkered handkerchief out of her pocket and hurled it at me. "That's another truth but that makes me so... _angry_ that you're not losing a flower for it! Ugh! I can't _believe_ you!"

Oh, give me a break. If this is also dependent on them _liking_ my answers then I'll never get free of this stupid thing. "Can I clarify something at least?"

Xion paced back and forth with renewed vigor. "Oh, I don't think so buster! _We're_ asking the questions here!"

I heard Lea yawn and he leaned forward, dangling the end of his rope in Xion's direction. "Here, why don't we switch spots for a second? I've got a few questions."

Fantastic, like I wanted to endure a grilling session from this wise guy. He leaned up in my face, taking another huge bite of his sandwich of some sort. "She reject you, huh?"

"One hundred percent."

He burst out laughing, yanking another flower from off the rope, twirling it for a moment between his thumb and finger. "Ouch. Not bitter about it, are you?"

"I'm glad she did."

He studied my face carefully and threw his arms up in a shrug. "Right. Well, that's enough of that I think." He reached out and rather than pull a single flower off, just snapped the whole thing in half, much to Namine and Xion's dismay as they were left holding rapidly unraveling strands of flowers limply in their hands.

"Lea! We weren't done yet!" Xion moaned, kicking at the useless flowers on the ground.

Namine was doing her best to salvage as many of the better blossoms as she could, lining them up into a bouquet in her hands. "It's alright, Xion. I think it's already clear that Sora was mistaken about a few things. We should just let him explain."

Lea slumped against the wall, bouncing his finger to accent his words as he spoke. "Eh, I can do that for you. Riku tried making kissy face with Kairi for some idiotic reason, Sora stumbled upon it at just the wrong time and ran off before he could see her shut him down. Sound about right?"

This was irritatingly humiliating but I grunted and crossed my arms. "I can't fairly justify my actions, but I've thought it over and realized I was in such a mindless panic over the thought of change that I lost myself a little. I got it in my head I was going to lose them somehow and..."

"And _really_ did yourself in, didn't you?" Lea groaned at me. "What a mess. You should have seen him yesterday. Practically inconsolable. Never seen him struggle so hard to keep a smile on his face."

"...I'd rather not think about it."

Namine, finished picking up her flowers, offered one out to me slowly. "Are you going to go explain it to him?"

"As soon as I know where he is." I took the flower from her, but I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with it.

Xion smacked her arm across my chest and pointed a finger sharply in my face. "Fine, we'll tell you. But you're still king of the jerks until you do some serious make up work."

Lea waved lazily in the air. "Yeah. Make sure you apologize nice and good. I'll hear about it if you don't. And when you see Roxas, tell him I know he's the one that keeps stealing my good coffee mug."

"What am I, your errand boy?"

"No, but doing a few nice favors now and again might be a good way to work towards dethroning yourself, Mr. Jerk King."

This guy is way too much of an opportunist. It's irritating.

* * *

I caught Roxas' attention first. I lifted the single white flower up in the air and he subtly nodded his head towards it, I guess understanding without words what it meant. The two of them were all the way out on Sunset Hill of all places. Sora had his back to the path so he hadn't seen me approach, but Roxas was facing in my direction and spotted me right away. Rather than alert Sora to my presence, he flicked his eyes in my direction, tugged on his ear and lifted his palm flat up towards me. He's probably trying to mime that he only wanted me to wait and listen, so I'll do my best to comply.

Thankfully Sora was completely unaware of the stilted sign language his friend was attempting right in front of him. He was lightly tossing a struggle battle club back and forth, clearly just fidgeting, trying to take his mind off of things.

Roxas cleared his throat and prodded him in the shoulder. "So! Feeling any better?"

He stopped swinging the club and sighed, staring out at the sunset in front of him. It was a little funny, that I finally managed to find him around the twilight hour, the very namesake of this town. I hated not being able to just come out and explain. I took one step towards him, but Roxas flashed me a warning glare and raised his voice.

"I have to ask, though...if _Riku were here right now, what would you want to say to him_? Just dump it all out and see what sounds right."

Sora grumbled. "I don't know! I still kind of want to push him off a dock or something."

He took a mock swing with the bat, I assume imagining giving me a good whack with it, and I felt a little smile creep its way onto my face. I'm glad he's at least able to make a joke of some sort about it, but honestly if he really did want to knock me into the water I'd be fine with it.

"Everything is still so mixed up inside..." He lowered the club again for a moment before shouting again in frustration and giving it an erratic swing. Roxas eyed it, maybe considering confiscating it.

"But as angry as I am, I just...I can't..."

"Yeah, as you've explained multiple times before: it wouldn't feel right blaming him for following his heart. But that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to be upset, too."

"I know..."

"Do you think you could put your feelings into words at all?" Roxas tried to urge him along.

"With Kairi and everything? It's so hard. Kairi, to me...she's...she's like that baking chocolate chip cookie smell. Do you know what I mean? It's just all around amazing and you know when you smell chocolate baking that nothing but good stuff is coming."

Why did he always make analogies with sweets? I swear those two are addicted to sugar.

Roxas looked a little embarrassed and shifted his eyes off my position for a moment. "Uh...yeah I'm pretty sure I get it. I know how much you like the smell of baking cookies, but besides that, you don't have to make weird comparisons with me, I know how you feel about her."

Very true. If anyone knew what was going on in Sora's head it would be him.

"So you know how...strong of a feeling it is, right? I've never felt that way before. About anyone. And Riku knew that! He of all people knew she was...special."

This was pretty torturous, standing here and listening to him voice how betrayed he felt. I know I deserve it, but...Roxas doesn't know the whole truth either. If I could just explain...

Sora yelled again in frustration and kicked at a loose pebble, sending it clattering down the side of the hilltop. "I'm such an idiot for not realizing it sooner! He practically told me the other day when he gave me that cryptic warning about her possibly finding someone else. But all the time I was just rambling on and on about her and never let him tell me he felt the same way! That was probably the real reason he was looking so off, and I just made it all about myself and my problems all the time! I should have...I should have known."

"You didn't have any way to know he felt that way. He certainly didn't tell you, and he really should have been way more conscientious than that. You _did_ ask him to open up, and gave him plenty of opportunity to do so, so it's really all on him, I think." Roxas' eyes flashed back at me. Yeah, yeah, message received.

"But when I think about her still...I get this cozy, fluttering feeling inside me like fuzzy bubbles filled with warmth and puppies and everything good and amazing in the world!" His gesticulating got a lot more vigorous and I smiled again. Even from behind it was so easy to tell when he was excited.

Roxas grinned at that one as well. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, but...I have to give that up, now." His hands limply fell to his sides. "It would only make things harder for the three of us. I can't just lie and pretend that knowing that doesn't hurt. I don't even know if I can even do it." He walked towards the railing and leaned out over it, the glowing sun framing him with light. "But I don't want to lose either of them! Kairi was so scared to tell me about how she felt about him because she didn't want to lose me as a friend either. That's why I have to try, for all of us. I keep telling myself I can't be selfish about it. It isn't fair to say he can't be allowed to feel that way about her, too."

"So...what does that mean?"

Sora sighed heavily, turning his eyes back up to the splotches of clouds above him dyed all the hues of the sunset. "I guess...if both of them feel about each other even just a _fraction_ of how Kairi makes me feel...then I know they'll be happy. And...if they are happy I'm sure that will make me happy, too."

Roxas stopped paying attention to me completely, leaning against the railing next to his other half. "...Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I'm always happiest when they are. Besides...maybe someday I can find someone else I can share those warm feelings with. Someone who w-wants to share them with me just as much." His head lowered and I heard a light sniff from where I was. Sure enough, he wiped quickly at his eyes, trying to dry them as fast as possible. "S-sorry, thought I got that all out already."

My stomach was twisting itself up into a tiny ball watching this. How much longer did Roxas expect for me to just stand here doing nothing!?

"She told me pretty clearly that she didn't want to choose anyone else but him. Knowing that she doesn't feel the same way about me...it's, it's really hard. But this pain inside me won't last forever. Right?" He glanced hesitantly to Roxas for confirmation before nodding himself. "I know it won't."

"Pain can feel endless, but it's not."

"And...for them to have a life of happiness like that? To know that she'll have always have somebody like Riku to keep her safe and happy? That's worth this pain right now. I'll always be glad about that. And as much as I want to clobber him for hiding it all from me and betraying my trust a little, I know he doesn't deser-"

I grabbed him so tightly from behind he couldn't even turn to see that it was me.

"H...huh…?" He looked down at my hands and connected the dots. "R-Riku…? What are...? How did...?"

"Stop. Just stop." I was prepared to fight to keep him still, but to my surprise he relaxed and stopped struggling altogether. Roxas was giving me a sour look, but he backed up out of the way.

"Sora, why are you always like this? You're always so ready to make everyone else happy. If you were only more selfish sometimes. You should be furious over this, not looking for reasons to forgive me."

"Did you... _want_ me to be mad at you? I don't understand." His pure childlike innocence that was sometimes so frustrating was such a wave of relief to me right now. It meant that despite what I'd done, I hadn't lost him altogether. I kept hugging him, trying to stop myself from shaking. "I wish you had just punched me. It would have saved us both a lot of trouble."

"Riku, I'm not going to punch you for following your heart. I'm not a hooligan. That's something I've been telling you to do for like...forever."

I could only sigh. "I'm...unspeakably lucky to have a guy like you as a friend. But you are wrong. So, so wrong." I saw Roxas glance at me suspiciously, probably trying to figure out what story I was about to tell to try and save my own skin here. He always was more suspicious of me.

Sora meanwhile was speechless. "But-"

"Just listen." I released him, and he spun around to face me straight away, his face a convoluted mixture of emotion as he tried to follow my instruction. "There isn't anything between me and Kairi. Nothing."

"B-but you were-"

"I was being an idiot. I knew you and Kairi were getting close and panicked because I didn't know how much that would change things between us. It dredged up a lot of really old feelings. Feelings that I never expected would show up again. I felt like I needed confirmation from her specifically that we weren't compatible in order to move on, but I think I really just needed confirmation from her that she wouldn't forget me and leave me behind once she had you. I only realized that too late. I should have just been honest about it with you, but I again, stupidly, thought I could somehow do all this without you finding out..."

Sora opened his mouth to say something but I silenced him again.

"Let me finish, please. I decided to ask her for an answer, even though I knew what the answer would be. And, just like I expected, she rejected me. Completely."

His face twisted up into the purest form of confusion possible.

"We talked it out and I fully accept it. There is nothing and will be nothing romantic between us. We both agreed. My biggest regret is that I was too much of a coward to just have an open conversation with you about it, and let you just stumble into it. I assume you must have walked in sometime during the beginning bits and never actually stayed until the end when we resolved things."

I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. "W-wait, so...you two didn't...? But I thought for sure that I saw you..."

"No. I got close, and she pushed me away. She said having me get that close only confirmed to her that she really liked...someone else, and only just realized it." I wasn't sure how much I wanted to admit on her behalf. I suppose if it comes out, it comes out.

"S-so she... she didn't..." I could almost see him replaying everything over and over in his head, scrutinizing every detail he could remember. "But she told me she liked you, she..."

"No, she didn't. Think harder."

"S-she wasn't telling me she liked you...?"

I sighed heavily. "No."

I saw the pieces starting to line up for him. "B-but that means...when she was telling me..." He dropped forward, slumping against my chest, relief shaking across his body. Wait, no...I think he was laughing?

"Uh...Sora?"

"I don't believe it. Riku, that means she..." He threw his head back, his face glowing in probably the first real, pure smile he's had in almost a full day.

"She was talking about _me_! She likes me!" Unbridled joy seeped up from that endless fountain he had stored somewhere inside of him and I saw him almost break out into a cheer when he suddenly stopped himself. "She...she was talking about me, right?"

"Yeah."

He suddenly swung his arm around and smacked me in the shoulder somewhat painfully, taking me by surprise.

Ow. "Okay I deserved that."

"You...you jerk! You _always_ find a way to mess with this stuff!" He hit me again. I couldn't tell if he was laughing so hard to make himself cry, or if he was crying through his laughing. "I finally get Kairi confessing her feelings to me with all her heart and instead of being able to enjoy it, the whole time I think she's talking about you! Oh, man..."

He shoved my arm one last time, wiping at his tears. "Geez, what luck I have. I swear, you are going to owe me for this for like... _ever_." Despite his face all full of mixed emotions I could see his smile pouring through.

"Yeah. I know. I made a lot of mistakes here."

"No kidding! But seriously dude, you should have just told me from the beginning about all of this! I mean, did you honestly think I wouldn't forgive you for _feeling_ stuff? Or that I would just leave you behind the minute I get a girlfriend or something?"

I groaned. "When you put it that way it sounds..."

"Bad, right?" He crossed his arms at me.

"Yeah..."

"Everything okay for you now? All inside here?" He tapped my heart and I sighed.

"Other than feeling guilty about hurting you, yeah, just fine." Always concerned about others first again, I see. At least he seems mostly back to normal.

"Don't! You needed to sort some stuff out. Sure, you...really should've done it differently and because of that there was a huge misunderstanding, but it's all fine now! Besides!" Sora started pacing back and forth, tapping at his head. "There are more important things to deal with right now!"

"...You mean about Kairi?"

"Yeah!" He stopped pacing and darted over to me, desperate. "Does it still count as a confession if I misunderstood it?"

"Sora, you misunderstand things all the time. If that's a qualifier for you then nothing would ever count."

"Ugh...I can't _believe_ I...she was so _sad_. I thought it was because she was just so worried about having to tell me something unpleasant, but...if she was actually trying to confess to me..." He moaned in frustration and rubbed at his head. "I'm so confused now! She's probably _super_ mad I misunderstood. Argh...what if she...wait!" He yanked on my arm desperately. "Riku! What does she think happened? Tell me! She talked to you about it, right? Did she think I misunderstood her?"

I hesitated. "Not...exactly. She...thinks you rejected her."

"What!?" It was like his world was crashing down around him. "O-oh man...that's bad. Like, _seriously_ bad." He was pacing so quickly he was probably going to bore a hole through the ground. "Was that my only chance!? C-can I get a do-over!?"

I grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to steady him. "Relax, already! She's fully aware there might have been some mixed signals going on that day."

" _Might_ have been!?"

"I told her my assumptions before I left. I really don't think she's going to hold all of this against you. So you've got a chance to set things right."

Roxas, who had been standing a ways away silently this entire time, finally interjected. "Anything I can do here?"

Sora tipped his head to the side, looking exhausted. "I'm not sure. Thanks for being a really, really great listener for all this, though. Considering I guess I was stressing out over nothing before."

"No problem." Roxas jabbed a lazy finger in my direction. "The way I see it, the only person who should be getting any flack from Kairi is that guy."

"Trust me, she already gave me an earful."

Sora moaned again, collapsing down into the dirt. "I wasted all my energy dealing with that other stuff and now that all this _real_ stressful stuff shows up I have no idea what to do anymore."

"It's no problem, Sora. Just go see her." Roxas piped up cheerfully.

"And do what!?"

Roxas and I exchanged glances. At least we both understood what needed to be done. Now the hard part: convincing this guy to go along with it.


	15. Kairi: The Right Person

I punted the tennis ball towards the wall as hard as I could.

I hate this!

It bounced off and I dashed after it, clipping it just before it reached out of bounds. With a yell, I knocked it back to the wall just as angrily the second time.

I hate being left behind!

Selphie was still sitting at the sidelines, watching me, spraying at the air with a mister every now and again to make herself feel useful.

Stupid boys!

I struck the ball again swiftly.

And their stupid, stupid stubborn-

I managed to catch it again, but stretched too far to reach it. My knees finally buckled and I tumbled to the ground in an ungraceful heap. Selphie rushed over to help.

"Hey, don't burn yourself out! You've been at this for hours. Everyone else has already left."

Oh...

I glanced around the court and only just realized that we were alone. All the other girls must have packed it in a while ago since there was no sign of anyone else or their belongings either. I had been so focused on everything in my head I hadn't realized.

I jumped up to my feet and gripped my racket tighter. "There's no way I'll burn myself out! I have way too much anxiety right now it's like this never ending fire. I've never felt so energized in my life!" I started another volley, smacking it even harder into the wall.

Stupid-

The ball didn't have a chance.

Boys!

Selphie sighed, watching me fight against the inanimate objects.

I growled. "Once he comes back here I am going to absolutely knock some sense into that thick skull of his for _ever_ believing that I would pick Riku over him."

Selphie tutted. "Uhh...it's not that crazy of a notion, really. I mean, Riku _is_ totally hot."

I spit fire at her with my eyes and smacked the ball again. "Not everything is about looks."

"Uh-huuuh." Why was she looking like she didn't believe me? "Come on, you totally check him out when he takes his shirt off for sailing club."

I ripped my towel off the chair and wiped it across my brow with a frustrated sigh. "Okay, sure, Riku has better abs but if that was all I wanted in a boyfriend I doubt it would be a very long and fulfilling relationship between us."

"Oh-ho-ho! So you _are_ looking, then?"

"Not as much as you do." I curtly snapped back, draining the last of my water bottle. Teasing wasn't going to get to me today! Nope!

She gleefully tipped her head back and forth. "And who was the one with her eyes glued to a special someone's shirtless body that day I dragged him down here, huh? You think I didn't see that, either?"

I spluttered and tried squirting some of the remaining drops of water at her but there wasn't enough left. "Is _that_ why you forced him down here in his swimsuit? To parade him in front of me like he's eye-candy or something?"

"You're welcome?"

I scuffed my shoe against the ground. Arguing against her really wouldn't get anywhere. Besides, she was partially right at least. I...had been looking. A little.

She shrugged. "Maybe you could just date them both. They're such good friends they'd probably have no issue trading sp-"

"That is _not_ funny." I reached for my racket again but Selphie yanked it out of my way.

"I think practice should be over for today. You'll exhaust yourself if you keep going at this rate."

I wanted to argue back again, but I suppose if I use up all my energy here I might not have any for when they finally get back. "I guess so..."

I really didn't think I was in any danger of exhausting myself right now, but I worried my legs were going to hate me tomorrow. I let her keep my racket and I walked over to retrieve my gym bag instead. She lazily wandered across the court, scooping up some of the rogue tennis balls.

"You know, I'm still a little surprised you picked Sora at first. But...the more I thought about it the more I realized it just fits you way better."

"Why is that?"

"I remember the look on your face. That time you sent off the message in the bottle to him? You would stare out at the ocean with this dreamy look on your face afterwards. You've never had that look with Riku. Not ever."

I did remember all those times. I would stare out at the waves, feeling hopeless and unable to help at all. But I treasured all the thoughts I could of them. Of him. I wanted to bring him back, more than anything. Just like now...

It seems even learning how to fight properly doesn't stop me from feeling helpless sometimes.

Selphie giggled at me, pointing to my face. "Yeah, kinda like that look right there. I'm not sure I've ever felt about _any_ boy that way."

"I don't know how to explain the feeling. It's...warm. I've always felt warm when I think about him. I suppose because he's so full of genuine kindness and joy it just seeps out. The way he can accept anything about anyone without question." I felt my heart flutter and I clutched my hand to my chest. "Some say he's too naive but I think it just proves his heart is always open to seeing the best in people. I think I trust him more than myself sometimes. And...something about that smile of his, it's so contagious and genuine."

Selphie was just giving me a really frustrating sly grin. "You're _so_ into him, it's adorable."

I focused on my shoes, completely self conscious now about how my face must look now.

"I can't believe it took you this long to figure it out! Usually you are so on point with that stuff. I guess it really goes to show that hearts are super complicated." She dumped her collection of tennis balls into the bin and brushed her hands off.

She seemed so peppy, but I still had such worry gripping me inside. "I wish I had discovered it sooner as well. I was far too late, and now..."

Selphie gave me a tight squeeze around the middle. "Don't worry! The minute Riku clears things up he's going to come rushing back here for you. Guaranteed problem solved."

"I don't know..."

"Kairi, he's nuts about you! Seriously, I can't even count the number of times I've caught him just _staring_ at you like a lovesick puppy."

I tried not to blush and hurried over to the locker room to grab my other things. "I-I'm just going to get changed really fast."

She giggled and playfully flapped her fingers at me. "Don't take too loooong. I have a lot to talk to you about!"

* * *

The shower felt amazing, but it didn't really do anything to sooth the redness in my face. At least it had washed away some of my bubbling anger at this whole situation. I had been flipping between so many different emotions so quickly: anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness, regret…

Now it felt like all that was left was this burning desire to just collapse completely in his arms and never let him go away again. But more than that, I...

I pushed against my lips with a single shaking finger. My skin felt like it was tingling all over, begging me for his sensitive touch. This feeling was...it was coursing through me, propelled by every rapid thump of my heart.

I wanted to kiss him. Badly. But I don't know if he would even want that from me.

My mind briefly recalled the feeling of him, pressed up against me, breath warm, sweet, as I begged him for the favor of feeling his lips on mine. And how quickly he had agreed. If only we hadn't been interrupted. If only I could have been more sure at the time.

How I wish I could have him here right now to ask again. I needed to know how he really felt.

Please come back soon, Sora. Please…

I heard the door to the locker room open and Selphie called my name, urging me to hurry up. I quickly jammed the temperature lever all the way to the left for a moment and shrieked as the chill of ice cold water poured over me. Once I felt like I had cleared away the burning feeling inside, at least temporarily, I switched off the water and rushed to grab my towel.

Selphie slipped into the chair next to me while I was just finishing up drying my hair. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and started adjusting her bangs. "I'm still a little miffed that all the effort I've put in to get you two together hasn't paid off already. But I know it will soon!"

I'm not sure what efforts she's talking about, but knowing her she's bound to brag about them at some point. I also admired her optimism, and I was trying to think as positively as I could myself, but I was still too worried about everything.

She sighed at our reflections. "I bet you're looking forward to him coming home. I'll make sure you two get _pa-lenty_ of alone time. Maybe I can set up another date for you two sometime."

I ran a brush through my hair, trying to not let her teasing get to me. "We've never been on a date."

"Nuh-uhh...I beg to differ! Why do you think I forced you two to go pick up flowers together before the festival?"

I fumbled my brush, catching it in my lap. "But that was...that wasn't..."

She grinned at me, bouncing in her seat. "So it wasn't _exactly_ an official date, but you both definitely liked each other at that point and got to spend a really nice afternoon together. I'd consider that close enough."

I turned to collect my things as fast as possible so she couldn't see me turning red again. "I didn't...I already told you I didn't know I liked him until yesterday..."

I heard her tut and stomp her foot. "You still liked him though. You just didn't want to admit it to yourself. You practically confessed how you felt about him to me at the first music rehearsal."

"But that was..." I thought back at that time. That was when Ophelia had first approached me about him, and I fell into a full panic about it. "I thought I was worried about losing him, not that I-"

"Yeah, that's the denial I'm talking about. You didn't want that other girl to ask him out because _you_ wanted him and it was freaking you out. It was pretty obvious just looking at you. "Stress," you said. Yeah, sure. I can spot lovesick eyes every time."

I couldn't argue with her, again.

"That's exactly why I went out of my way to set up that little excursion for you two. It was worth it, right?"

I thought back to that night. Sure, I had a lot of worries on my mind, but it was so...wonderful. That was the first time the idea of kissing him really crossed my mind. I had tried so hard to shake that thought away, but now I wanted to linger on it, daydream of it. I know if I told her what had almost happened by that fountain she would probably have a fit I hadn't mentioned it before.

It was just so sudden. I had felt myself moving towards him, wanting to be closer. I didn't know why. Some urge inside of me like an invisible leash had yanked me there. I thought it was because I was so happy to see him, so happy he wasn't going to leave me, so happy he was different from that shadowy stalker of mine. Who...I just realized I hadn't seen for a week or so now, which gave me some comfort at least.

"I was happy when he kissed me on the cheek at the end of the day. It took me by complete surprise because he's never done anything like that before."

Selphie gave a polite little clap. "What a sweetheart. Too bad he couldn't muster up the courage for the real thing."

"I suppose..." I still don't know if he was only doing it to try and make me happy.

She tutted at me again. "What? You don't want him to? Or maybe you want to kiss him first?"

I couldn't answer. I wanted both. Everything. Anything from him was always so genuine.

Selphie stood up to let me pass as I started for the door. She trailed me, giggling. "I think a first kiss between two people is such a wonderful thing. Especially when it's your first ever! I bet Sora tastes like marshmallows. You'll have to let me know."

I blushed again at the thought of it but shook it out of my head as quickly as I could. "Selphie, stop. He turned me down, remember? Even if Riku clarifies with him about yesterday that doesn't mean he will then simply accept what I said. I really think I hurt his feelings..."

"Ugh, that Riku..." She had a brief sour look pass across her face, but she shook it away. "But it was a misunderstanding! He'll definitely come back fighting for you just like a romance novel!" Selphie was spinning in enviable carefree circles next to me.

I'm honestly not so sure. Everyone seems to think it's a guaranteed thing, but...I really don't know how he could like me so strongly without me ever knowing. After all, maybe he didn't hear the conversation between me and Riku at all. That was just an assumption. Maybe there wasn't any misunderstanding and he really was just telling me how he felt. There's no way to know until he gets back and I can-

"Life isn't always a romance you ignorant airhead." His cold voice made me shiver.

Not him _again_. I must have jinxed myself thinking his name in my head earlier. I spun around and glared at his figure, leaning up against a tree, tossing a shikuwasa up and down in the air.

Selphie stamped her foot on the ground and puffed her face out angrily. " _Excuse_ me!? No one asked you, weirdo!" She whipped around to address him but the minute her eyes laid on his face she froze, stunned. "Uh...K-Kairi, is that...?"

I nodded stiffly. Vanitas has only ever waited for me to be alone to speak. He's definitely never shown himself to Selphie before. I stepped forward to make sure she was behind me. He wouldn't touch her if he could get to me first.

He caught his fruit one last time and squeezed it roughly in his hands, threatening to squish the juice right out of it. "Maybe this is the time where the sweet princess decides to let the darkness in, instead of waiting around for her knight to come rushing back to save her."

"Never." I dropped my gym bag roughly to the ground, just in case I needed to fight him off. My tennis ball canister tumbled out of the side and bumped against my foot. The lid cracked open slightly, and one of the balls went rolling away down the hill. It wasn't worth chasing right now.

"Oh, but you were so close yesterday. For just a moment you were _so close_ to giving in. I could feel it."

How could he know what my heart was going through? He wasn't even supposed to be there yesterday! Unless he was somehow finding a way to sneak out again. Always watching me. Watching what happened between...

But where could he have been?

The tunnel. I knew I felt that creeping touch of darkness in that empty, lonely place. He had no regard for my privacy, for my feelings at all! Just incessant following! Pushing his way into the spaces I was most vulnerable.

"My pain isn't for your amusement!"

"Life isn't as rosy as we want it to be, is it? Maybe it's better to just give in."

I held my gaze steadily on him. I wasn't afraid of this. Not at all. "It's _not_ over yet."

He glared, crushing the fruit even more, juice dripping down his thumb. He hurled the frayed rind and pulp down to the ground and stomped it with his shoe. It sickeningly squelched under him, but he never took his eyes off me. "You sound so confident, but can you really be sure? Have you ever considered that maybe it is your light that is blinding you? Causing you this pain?"

"My...light?"

He laughed, mockingly. "You really never thought it was a possibility? Your heart is so high up on that figurative pedestal of _goodness_ , how could you ever relate to the feelings of base people like me, like Riku, or even _him_? You can't! That's why you never even considered they could love you, desire you!" His usual cold cynicism was shifting menacingly to anger. "Your light will only ever get in the way!"

I remained still as he slowly started to approach, his hand reaching out towards me. "If you let me, I could give you just the tiniest touch of darkness. If you let me, I could l-"

 _WHUMP_.

My tennis ball bounced off his cheek and he staggered a little, shocked. His face was a mix of bewilderment and frustration and he rubbed the slight red mark indignantly.

"Did you just...throw that at me? At my _face_!?"

"Yep."

He tried taking another step. "Why are you being so-"

 _CLACK-WHUMP._

The second tennis ball I hurled in his direction he dodged away from, but it clacked against the fence behind him, ricocheting off and got him right in the shoulder. He scowled at me.

"Don't you want to understand? Don't you want to be closer? I can help you..."

I lifted my last tennis ball up to him threateningly and Selphie cheered, finally building up courage to move after standing frozen this entire encounter.

"Like that's going to work, you creep!" She shouted, and a tennis ball whizzed towards him from behind me. I guess Selphie had found the one that rolled away earlier.

He ducked away from it and growled, clearly irritated at our almost juvenile response. "Stop it!"

I shook my head at him defiantly, still ready to throw the last tennis ball if I needed to. I didn't care how stupid it looked, launching tennis balls at him. But it was all I could do to show him exactly how seriously I took his requests right now.

"Fine, if that's how you want to be! There are other ways for me to get what I want. There are always others with heartbreak out there." He finally turned to leave, casting me one last look over his shoulder. "Oh, and you might as well give up on Sora now. It'll save you the pain of having to do it later when he's g-"

I wordlessly launched my last tennis ball at him and watched it bounce satisfyingly off the side of his head. Take that, you jerk. I hope that hurt.

"Tsh..." He stormed off without another word, leaving me and Selphie behind.

"A-and stay away!" She yelled after him, clutching at my shirt and I could tell she was shaking a little. She lowered her voice once he disappeared over the hill. "...I don't like that guy."

I have no idea why he wanted to tempt me with darkness. It seemed like such a pointless thing to try. But what was he was saying about Sora...? I suppose it doesn't matter, I really don't trust him as a reliable source anyway.

"Let's just head home, okay?"

She helped me gather the tennis balls back up and made it to the gate of her house first. She slung her bag over her fence through her open window and ran back out to meet me on the path.

"Hey, let's go grab some ice cream from the corner store. I'm all jittery still and could use something."

"Sure..." I guess any distraction for now is a good one.

As we made our way towards the store, I noticed the boat docks nearby looking rather...sparse. My feet slowed as I stared down at the moorings. Their boats. It was _their_ boats. They were missing…

My heart started to pound as I raced up to the dock and threw the rope off of my own, untying it faster than I ever have before. As I jumped in I nearly capsized myself.

Selphie was still standing on the shore, baffled. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

I pushed off the dock with my oar and barely stopped to shout out to her. "Their boats are gone!"

"Whaaaat?" I don't think she understood me, but I didn't have time to stop right now.

I paddled as fast as I could. I knew someone could have easily just taken their boats by accident but...maybe they were back. Maybe _he_ was back.

I crashed into the sand, forgoing any sense of a neat landing in favor of speed, ripping off my shoes and socks and jumping straight into the shallows to loosely tie my boat to one leg of the pier. I didn't even bother putting my shoes back on, just hurled them further up onto the sand and searched frantically.

No sign of either of them on the main shore.

I raced towards the door that lead to the secret cove in the back. They had to be here. Something was just screaming inside of me that they were. Maybe it was just an errant hope but I was desperate.

Just as I laid my hand upon the wood of the door, it burst open, throwing me backwards. I stumbled and yelped, more at the sudden shock than anything else. Something fast zipped around my side and behind me as I teetered, unable to catch my balance. Just as I felt myself falling, I was stopped by a sturdy bump against my back. What was...?

I realized that whoever had just come flying out of that door was now somewhat awkwardly crouched underneath me, using their own back to hold me up.

"...Sora?"

My heart fluttered again at the suddenness of it all. But I was also incredibly confused. Why didn't he just catch me with his hands?

"Hey..." He hesitantly smiled back up at me, laughing like he was also surprised to see me and not quite sure how to react. "Sorry about that, Kairi! Are you okay?"

"Um...yeah."

I lifted myself up off of him, twisting around to face him as he stood up. I saw him fumble with something and clench his hands together tightly, like he was trying to keep something from squirming out. Before I could say anything he just lifted them up into the air, his face alight with excitement, and charged off.

"Gotta run! Gecko Rescue Task Force is Go!"

...gecko…what?

Riku stepped out from the other side of the door, smiling a little. My confusion making it a bit difficult to form any of the questions I wanted to ask. Likely anticipating this, Riku tried to at least explain the lizard part for me.

"He just rescued a gecko from some birds and is going to go put it in the shack."

All sense of urgency dissipated and I couldn't help but break into laughter. It felt so unbelievably wonderful to laugh again. And I realized that even though he had slipped past me for only just a moment, the heart that I had felt beating underneath me then was unequivocally Sora. Just as he should be.

He really is back.

Riku was looking okay as well, no obvious bruises. Hopefully that means they didn't clobber each other like usual when they have a disagreement.

"When did you..."

"Only a little bit ago. Picked up something easy to eat and had a chat, but we were only around for maybe fifteen minutes or so before getting mobbed by some flying rats and Sora spotted that little lizard problem of his and had to do something about it."

"Did you, um..." I wasn't quite sure how to phrase it.

"We had an interesting talk. I suggest you two have the same." He glanced over at the docks where I could hear Selphie ranting up a storm. "I see you brought a guest along with you. I'll keep her busy." He briefly checked my feet, covered in sand and seemed unsure if he should comment on it. "...did you need me to find you some sandals?"

I shook my head, knowing it was probably easier to go barefoot than trying to walk on the sand in my clunky school shoes anyway. He started heading over in Selphie's direction but I fidgeted nervously. Was he really just going to throw me out there without giving me any information at all? Was there a misunderstanding or not?

"Riku, um..."

He just winked at me and tipped his head over to the shack. "You know where to find him."

Thanks oh so much for the help. Why does he have to be like this sometimes?

All the stress I had this entire day had been wiped away in an instant, but was now replaced with such dread at having to do this whole confessing thing all over again. I swallowed and took a deep breath. I did it once, so it shouldn't be that much harder to just do it again, right?

I nodded to myself with a determined huff. Right! Just like tennis practice! I'm not going to let that thick headed boy get away from me until I'm sure he understands this time. No matter how many tries it takes!

I paused, my hand resting against the wood of the shack door. I don't even know how to read this whole situation. Was everything okay? Was it really just a misunderstanding? It's just like Riku to be extra annoying today of all days. But still...despite my apprehension, I wanted to see him more badly than I didn't.

I pushed open the door lightly only to bump into a sturdy object of some sort blocking it from opening any further. There was a metallic clatter and a loud thud.

"Ow!"

Sora's brief cry made me wince in worry. I peeked in through the crack of the opened door to see what had fallen. I saw Sora sprawled out on his back, rubbing his head with several empty buckets strewn near him. Seeing it was now clear, I burst in, stumbling over a few of the buckets myself.

"Sora, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

He laughed nervously and glanced up at something over my head on the wall. "Ah, yeah. It's all good. You're good too, right little buddy?"

I checked the space over the door. A small baby gecko was clinging to the wood in the corner, happily prodding at a few mango flowers that were growing through the edge of the roof. I guess he had been using those buckets to get high enough to put him up there. Of course he decided to do something precarious like that right behind the door. I laughed a little and gave him a hand to help him up.

"I don't know if a shack is a good place for a gecko to live."

"It's fine, he can slip out through those cracks whenever he wants. I figured it would be safer in here until those birds leave. Oh! Before I forget!" He slipped a bag off his shoulder and dug through it, grabbing out a smaller one of paper.

Leaving his larger bag behind, he reached for my hand and pulled me up the stairs out towards the exit by the bridge. I felt my pulse immediately quicken as I soaked in the warmth of his touch. I didn't even care where he wanted to take me, I was going.

The minute we exited out the back I was met by a blast of sunlight and a crowd of several angry seabirds. Sora dug into the paper bag and pulled out some half eaten, sashimi from a portable lunch box, ripped up into jagged, smaller than normal portions. He then proceeded to fling piece after piece over to the jostling crowd. They squawked, huddling closer to us.

"Isn't that your dinner?" I ducked under the furious batting wings of a naughty one who was trying to cut in line. Sora hurled the next piece further away and the crowd shuffled back from us slightly.

"Well, yeah. I'd feel bad stealing their meal away and forcing them to go hungry."

I smiled at how considerate he was. Most people probably wouldn't have even bothered, but I doubt these chubby little guys were going to starve any time soon. "And what about you?"

"Eh, I was mostly done anyway. Not too hungry." He tutted at one of the larger gulls that was snatching up more than his share. "Hey, hey, play nice!"

"Could I have some?"

He offered me the box and his chopsticks so I could take a turn. I launched a few pieces over to some of the smaller ones who looked like they needed it a bit more. For a while the two of us traded the lunchbox back and forth, laughing and dodging around some of the feistier ones. While I had this higher vantage point, I checked up on where Riku and Selphie were. At the moment he was trying his best to usher her back onto her boat but she was resisting it every step of the way.

It felt nice to temporarily forget all of this drama and enjoy doing something so silly together. But our fish supply wasn't endless. Once we ran out, the gulls immediately and thanklessly lost interest and shuffled off elsewhere.

"Just a minute..." Sora turned and raced back into the shack, I assume to put the bag away.

He came up with a small hand towel for me to wipe my fingers off with and I gave him a quick thank you before handing it back. He stuffed it into his pocket in a crumpled lump and then paused, almost like he now wasn't sure what to do. I can't blame him. I'm not sure myself.

"Sora, about yesterday..."

I had so many things swimming around in my head only moments before but now that he was actually here I couldn't even seem to remember a fragment of what I wanted to ask him. My eyes drifted down back towards the docks, but Selphie and Riku were no longer there. I still felt strangely self conscious standing up so high, now that we had drifted over onto the roof of the shack. Did I really want to be proclaiming my feelings from up here? It felt a little weirdly cliche in a "shout it from the rooftops" kind of way.

He seemed quiet as well, like he was trying to piece something together in his head. I saw him look down at my feet and he frowned.

"Where are your shoes?"

"A-ah, um..." I scanned the beach down below us and pointed over to where they were lying strewn across it.

He laughed and nodded his head over to the sandy area just to our right by the large waterfall that we could use as a step down. "Did you want to go get them? I can't imagine it's comfortable up here in just your bare feet. I don't want you getting a sliver or something!"

Now that he pointed it out, the wood was a little rough and gritty. "I-I suppose we could get down and go sit by the waterfall..."

I had no idea if he was struggling to think of topics to talk about because he was trying to avoid the obvious one, or if he was trying to lighten the mood for me. He made his way over to the corner of the roof and jumped off onto the closer ledge, offering out his hands to help me down. I reached for them gratefully, expecting him to just let me use his hands as a counter weight, but instead he reached past my arms and lifted me up by my hips to carry me down. I gasped and slipped forward, forcing him to catch me completely. He did this almost effortlessly and I clung to him. I keep forgetting that he's a lot stronger than he looks sometimes.

He set me down on the sand quickly, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't have..."

I shook my head against his chest, still clinging tightly, feeling my face burn. To feel his heart so close to me made me never want to let go again. I could also feel a bit of spray coming down from the waterfall just behind us, the wind carrying the mist across the tiny pool. It was refreshing, and against his beating heart I began to feel a peaceful calm. I opened my eyes and looked out over the shore of the beach and beyond it, where the sun was sinking steadily below the horizon.

Now that my anxiety was lessened, I felt all my unsaid words screaming inside of me so strongly I couldn't hold it in. I finally released my embrace and turned my eyes towards his.

"Sora, I'm the one who needs to apologize. I'm so sorry about, about e-everything. Y-yesterday I, the things I was saying, I feel so terrible that I made you so sad, and that you cried and you..."

I stumbled all over my words and away from him, tears welling up in my eyes at the frustration of it all. "You try so hard to keep me happy all the time and then I just go and do that to you, and...and..."

I clenched my fist at my side so tightly it shook. "I should have just c-come out and said everything that was on m-my m-mind but I was too scared. Because of me, you thought I was talking about something I wasn't and if I could only have been more e-eloquaint—quet-" The words tumbled out in all the wrong order.

"Kai-"

"I've just been so ridiculously naive! There are so many things I should have noticed sooner, or done differently. I'm probably bothering you again. And I have no idea what you and Riku talked about or if there was ever really a misunderstanding between us!" I gulped for some fresh air, and I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my own heart.

"For all I know you might want me to drop all of this already so we can go back to normal like before and just go feed birds or splash in the water or watch the sunset and now I'm standing here dredging it all back up again and..."

"Kair-"

"I'm so sorry! Especially if the whole time you thought everything I said was about Riku. But it really wasn't! Every word I said was...it was..." I inhaled deeply, the emotion of it all burning through me. But the more I went on, the easier it was to let everything free. Because once I started I couldn't hold it back.

"Every word was meant for you, Sora! Every single one! I like you! I like you more than I can even say right now! But I'll say it a thousand different ways over and over again if that's what it takes to let you know the truth. I want you to have my heart, no one else. I just think about you and I get dizzy. When I see your smile I feel warm and comfortable and I never want you to stop feeling so happy all the time. I love the way your hair does that silly bouncy thing when I touch it, and when you get so enthusiastic you almost can't control your arms and how the way you see the world is always so lighthearted and wonderful, and..." I trembled, terrified that I would look up to see him staring back at me with that sad broken expression again, so I glued my eyes to that necklace of his.

"I don't know if that even changes anything but I needed to make sure you knew. And...and if your answer is still the same I u-understand but I...I needed you to know how I really feel, so..."

"Kairi!" He had to shout to finally break through my constant stream of babbling.

I finally shut my mouth, letting my words trail off into silence. I finally braved a chance to check his expression. But I couldn't quite read it. He was standing there, speechless, the last rays of the sun setting over his shoulder that cast his face in a slight shadow, hiding it. From between the light mist of tears in my eyes and the reflection of light on the water, it was like he was shrouded in some sort of hazy, shimmering glow.

I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes before they fell, hoping to get a better look. But the light cast off of him was still there. I guess it always is, in a way. That tenacious glowing spark of his that never really ever faded away. No matter what tried to dim it, he would always come back, shining all the brighter. And sure enough, like it was only waking from a nap, I finally saw that pure, wonderful sun of a smile rising up across his face, making his eyes shine. His spirit had such a _light_ to it. It was just like...

 _Just like the sun...sparkling on the surface of the ocean…_ I could remember my own words, echoing through my mind. _If I can see a light like that in his eyes when he tries to confess to me..._

And it all made so much sense. Time had never felt so, so slow, then at that moment.

He said nothing.

But he didn't have to.

He wrapped his hand gently around my upper arm and pulled me forward across that small space between us: that small, previously impassible, previously insurmountable gap.

And he kissed me.

Warmth flooded into every part of my body. For that first never ending moment, I was filled to the brim with the purest sweet happiness I could have ever imagined. And he really did almost taste like marshmallow.

Just as I felt his grip on my arm loosen a little, I flung myself against him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He stumbled backwards, and I giggled, refusing to let our lips part. I could feel him smiling too, and nothing had ever felt more right than this.

I still don't know the answer: if the magic is in the kiss itself or the love between two people, but there is definitely something magical about it. Powerfully magical.

When we finally separated, slowly, for that first time, I barely managed to breathe out a sigh before he wrapped his hands around my waist and drew me back in.

I was more than willing to go, because I never wanted to leave.

* * *

I have no idea how long we had been out here on our unofficial sunset viewing tree, especially since the sunset was long since gone. But I didn't care. I snuggled my head closer against his chest, listening to his heart beat with my eyes closed. I smiled and clung as close as I could. No trace of any sorrow whatsoever.

"Everything okay?" He tipped his head down to check on me.

"Mm...your heart sounds happy."

He laughed. "Well, yeah! I'm not sure if I've ever been happier."

I pulled a bit away from him just so I could bop him on the nose. "Really…? I'm not sure about that. There was that _one_ year at Christmas..." I could tell from his face he knew _exactly_ what I was talking about.

"Aw, c'mon I was seven..." He sighed and cleared his throat. Still embarrassed about that one, hmm?

I snuggled back against him. "I'm glad you're happy. Your smiles are one of my favorite things."

Okay, now he was _really_ embarrassed. Unfortunately no matter how much he wanted to hide that red face of his, I wasn't letting him go. As he wrestled playfully with me in an attempt to hide, I noticed something wrapped up in cloth lying on the sand near the tree and tried directing his attention over to it.

"Sora, what's that?" I'm pretty sure I recognized it as one of Sora's old hand towels he used to use in elementary school. Or at least, it was a very similar one. But I'm not sure who else would have a "Fat Chocobo: The Musical TV Special" branded cloth just lying around.

"Uhh, it's..."

I finally released him and hopped down off the tree to go inspect it. It was quite suspiciously tucked away too, rather than like it had been accidentally forgotten.

"Is this yours?" I grabbed it up off the ground, but noticed the weight of it was more than just fabric. Something was inside. He stuttered out something as I folded the edges away to reveal the hidden object inside.

It was a small boat on a key chain, carved out of several pieces of wood with a little sail stitched onto the rafters. Actually, now that I looked at it more closely it sort of resembled that old raft of ours but with a cute little paopu fruit drawn on the sail. I turned to him, holding the charm cupped in my hands. He jumped off the tree and was shifting back and forth uneasily.

"I..."

"This _is_ yours, right?" I asked again, and I held it out to him but he shook his head quickly, pushing it back towards me to keep.

"No, I..." Urgh, he's so irresistibly cute when he's nervous like this. "I m-made it for you. I was going to give it to you today, and I had a whole speech planned and everything but, um...y-you sort of beat me to that stuff, and..."

I realized that this was probably that mystery object his mother had accidentally told me about. The one she was expecting him to give to me at Kono Fes. I bet the speech he wanted to give with it would have been a stumbling, hopelessly sappy, romantic mess, and now he wouldn't get a chance to tell it. And that wouldn't do at all! Sometimes that's just what I want to hear.

"If you don't mind, Sora, I'd really like to know what you wanted to say."

He itched the side of his face and smiled. "I-it's a little awkward to do it now, isn't it?"

"Please…?" I gave his hand a little squeeze. "As my first official _girlfriend_ request?"

"G-girlfr..." His whole face flushed and I giggled. So cute!

He cleared his throat and shuffled again. "U-um, so...I made this for you. I've never been really good at crafts, especially small little charm things but I wanted to make something that you could always keep with you. I like cooking, but you can't exactly keep that lying around."

"No, that probably wouldn't be a good idea."

"And, I know I steal your good luck charm a lot..."

"Mm-hmm..."

"But it always helps me out. Every time I see it I think of you, and know that you're with me somehow. I thought, maybe...I could make you something like that. So even when I borrow your charm you could still have one."

I glanced back down at the small little boat he made. It wasn't perfect, but I didn't want it to be. It definitely looked like something he had made himself.

He pointed to it. "I decided to make it look like that raft we made because that was originally how we wanted to explore the worlds together. So...anywhere you go, it can keep you company in my place."

"It's wonderful. It really is."

He beamed. I'm going to have to be careful now that I don't bolster his ego too much for his own good.

"And you were originally going to give this to me at the festival?"

"Yeah..."

"Why didn't you?"

He sighed. "Well I...after I thought I saw you and Riku together, I didn't want to get in the way..."

I regretted asking completely. "O-oh. I...b-but just to be clear we didn't-"

"Y-yeah, I know now, don't worry! I already squared that whole thing up with him. At the time, though, I just figured it would be a bit inappropriate. I...actually debated putting it on the pyre for a while."

I gasped in horror at the thought. "Why!?" Is _that_ why he didn't want to tell me about the offerings on the boats?

"Because I made it, thinking of you. Those fires were for burning things we wanted to move on from. I thought, if you were going to get into a relationship with Riku, I would need to move on from my feelings so I could support you both properly. I made it all the way to the boat, but...it felt like the wrong thing to do. Just because I wouldn't be able to be with you or share those feelings with you didn't mean I wanted to just erase them and forget they ever happ-"

I kissed him again, relishing the feeling of warmth it brought me. I made this one quick, but he still seemed completely dazed and it took him a few seconds to re-gather his thoughts.

I stayed up on my toes so I could be closer to his face. "You are far too sweet, you know that? But maybe that's why I like you so much."

He smiled, brushing his hand across my cheek. "I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you properly."

"You still can."

I took his hand away from my face and slipped the charm inside, pushing it towards him. I took a few steps back and breathed in. Here we go. Time to bust out my best acting skills.

"Oh! Sora! You're back! Shall we go have a seat over there and watch the festival?" I gestured a bit exaggeratedly over towards the tree.

It took him a second or two to understand what I was playing at, but then he smiled broadly, taking my arm in his.

"Sorry I took so long, oh volcano spirit."

I cleared my throat. "And it looks like you forgot the food you specifically went to get for me." I jostled him with my elbow and he frowned.

"I didn't forget! I...misplaced it." He winced. "Please don't roast me with your fiery vengeance."

"I suppose I can let it slide, _this_ time." I laughed at the sheer absurdity of it all and let him walk me over to the tree.

I was about ready to jump backwards up onto it but he knelt down, letting me use him as a step up. I thanked him and waited for him to climb up next to me. I cuddled close to his side, glad to have him as a source of heat in the cooler evening air.

"I...uh.." Sora seemed like he was having trouble getting started. I rested my head on his shoulder, hoping that my presence would be a support, but it seemed to only be distracting him more than anything.

I giggled and clapped my hands together suddenly, as loudly as I could. "Bang!"

He jumped, startled. "What was that?"

"A firework, silly! And you only have...what was it, two more? Better get started!"

"R-right. Uh...you are...well..."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Come on, Sora! This is probably the least pressure confession you could possibly have asked for, no?"

"I know, but what you said earlier was so wonderful, and this is weird because some of what I wanted to say doesn't make sense any more..."

"Just relax and be yourself, that's what I always tell you, isn't it?" I wanted to give him a motivational kiss on the cheek, but I figured to save it until he actually got the words out, as a sort of reward.

He took a deep breath, nodded to himself and started. "Lately it seemed like you were really worried about the future and us being able to stay together, so I thought I would make you something special to help with that. Because I never want to be away from you, either. Thinking about a future without you makes me...really, really sad. You've always inspired me. Since you first showed up, falling from the stars like some kind of angel. There was always something so wonderful and bright around you, it made me want to always be the best person I could be, to always do what felt right. And, well...I'm not the greatest guy out there. I'm pretty average at a lot, and...downright awful with other stuff. I definitely can't make crafts, that's for sure. But I still want to try every day to be true to myself."

"Sora, you're..."

He held up his hand and I fell quiet, letting him finish.

"That's why I...to be totally true to myself I need to finally let you know: I like you, Kairi. I care about you more strongly than I've ever cared about anything. I know with absolute certainty that if you weren't in my life I wouldn't be here right now. From the very first moment you smiled at me as a kid I knew you were someone special. And as the years went by, the more time we spent together, I only ever felt myself so captivated by the gentle compassionate light inside you. The same light that guides me through the dark, the same one I want to follow anywhere."

He reached out and grabbed my hands, clamping them tightly inside of his own. "You're so wonderfully beautiful to me. Even when you're glaring at me because I did something stupid again, or when you're having a really bad day and you're face is all puffy from crying. Every part of you is still beautiful to me."

I knew he was sincere. I'd had boys come up to me all the time before proclaiming my beauty, but I've never had a boy be so...convincing about it, before.

"Kono Fes is supposed to be about new beginnings. I was...I was hoping we could maybe start a new beginning, too. Maybe we could be m-more..." I could feel his hands shaking. If he's this nervous now, how would he possibly have gotten this far yesterday?

"Y-you're like one of the most super best teammates! A-and...I want to be a person you can rely on, too. For more than just friendship stuff. For, you know...being y-your..."

His grammar absolutely flies out the window when he gets nervous. I withdrew my hands from his and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a tight squeeze. "You're one of the most reliable people I know."

His trembling lessened and he squeezed back. "Someone like you deserves someone amazing. And...I can't imagine I'm the most desirable candidate out there so, I wouldn't be confused by you turning me down. But even if you do, I always want to keep making you smile, and keep you safe. So...I made this silly little thing to help with that, in some way. To always be there with you on your life journey."

He pulled out of our hug and he offered me the small handmade ship. I cradled it lovingly between my fingers and tipped my head back and forth. "And...after saying all that, how do you think I would have answered?"

He blinked. "Uh...you'd have said you liked me too, I guess?"

"Hmm…you think so?" I teased him.

"Y...yes?" The confusion and sudden insecurity on his face was both sad and adorable at the same time.

I giggled. "Maybe more like...'what took you so long, silly'!"

He relaxed, relieved, and I bopped his nose again. "After all, as soon as I figured it out I confessed to you a mere hour later, give or take. Seems like you kept your feelings hidden for years."

"Sorry..."

I wasn't upset about his confession, though. Not in the slightest. It was so, absolutely him. Sappy, earnest and every bit as wonderful as I could have ever imagined.

I nuzzled closer into his side. "It just means we have a lot of catching up to do."

He fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket. "D-does that mean...can I kiss you again?"

"Mm-hmm..."

His eyes lit up and he wrapped me up in a hug, his voice bubbling with excitement. "...can I kiss you tomorrow, too?"

"And the day after. Maybe even next week."

He cheered and immediately pressed his lips to my forehead. I wondered if this enthusiasm of his would ever run out. I certainly hope not.

"Sora, thank you for what you said earlier. It was...really nice to hear you say those things. And I know you meant them."

"Of course I did!"

I gave him the reward of my previously considered kiss on the cheek. Maybe it was more for me than him, though. I couldn't get enough. The feeling of him against my lips was just so fulfilling, and the moment I separated from him the desire to continue was even stronger than before. Every inch of me begged for the feel of his touch that much more.

I wondered if he could feel how fast my heart was racing. How much I wanted to just melt into him.

I pulled back, trying to control myself and noticed he had a rather strange look on his face.

"Hey, Kairi? Can I ask you a really weird question?"

Oh, no. What could _this_ be? "Okay..."

He stalled a bit before finally mustering up the courage to ask this bizarre thing of his. "Would you be upset, if I... smelled your hair every now and again?"

"...if you smelled my...what? Why?"

Well, it certainly was a weird question, but I'm actually glad it wasn't actually anything too troublesome. I was worried it was going to be something embarrassing.

He sheepishly looked the other way. "I just...I really like it..."

I couldn't help but laugh at both the absurdity of the request, but also the fact that I shockingly found his simple desire pretty cute. "I don't mind. If it makes you happy, smell it whenever you like."

"Whenever?"

I gave him a playful tap on the head. "Within reason, obviously."

I didn't want him just running around during school with his nose pressed into me. Though, considering the idea of him doing something as silly as that made me worry if maybe we should establish a few basic things with each other before any of this progresses further. I found it a little frightening how addictive his touch was to me. It was Sora, so I trusted him not to be a creep or anything, but I felt like I didn't have too much willpower to resist him right now. I'd probably give in to anything he asked of me.

We were both treading into unknown ground with all of this, now. I wasn't sure what it was going to be like moving forward, now that the nature of our relationship with each other has shifted into this new direction.

He snuggled me close, burying his face into the top of my head. I could hear him lightly sigh and I felt such unexpectedly bright joy knowing that such a simple thing could make him sound like he was the happiest he's ever been. If I'd known earlier that was all it took to make his day I would have done it much sooner.

It really was a new beginning, but I certainly didn't feel like any part of our friendship had been lost in the process. Only strengthened, blooming into a different type of flower than before.

"Would it be alright if we set up a basic boundary system?"

He pulled his face away from me so he could talk easier. "Boundary system? You mean like rules?"

I nodded.

"Sure, that sounds fair!"

I'm wondering if he has any idea what he's just so quickly agreed to this time. I'm sure he's not going to be too happy with what I'm about to request.

"First: as much as I like you, Sora, I'm not sure how ready I am to make this a big public...thing. So for now at least when we are out in town or at school let's try to act normally with one another."

He tipped his head to the side with a frown and I could already tell he was regretting his quick decision making again. "So...wait, I can't touch you at _all_ if we aren't alone?"

Ew, a rule like that would certainly be horribly unpleasant for the both of us. That's definitely not what I wanted. "No, I didn't mean that. Holding hands, hugs, all that is okay. Kisses on the cheek are okay, too."

He breathed out a huge sigh of relief. "So what isn't allowed then?"

"Nothing here." I tapped my lips and he nodded. "Especially not at school."

"Until we're alone, right?"

"Yep. Then it's fine. Is that okay? For just a little bit at least. This is...still really new for me and I don't know how comfortable I'll be with everything."

"Yeah, that's okay. It's new for me too." He laughed and pressed his forehead against mine. "I'll do my best."

"Is there any rule you want to put down?" I decided to ask him, since it wouldn't be fair for only me to make demands.

He thought for a moment. "I can always change my mind, right?"

I raised my voice dramatically, like I was reciting the words to some ancient curse. "No, Sora, once you commit we will be bound to it for _all_ eternity. It is _unbreakable_."

He did his best to copy my tone, moaning like a ghost. " _Curses!_ And if one of us breaks a rule we'll be...uh...turned into a _snaaail_."

"Ew, what?" I smacked him on the arm. "A frog would've been a much better choice."

He crossed his arms, apparently fairly ready to argue this with me. "No way! Snails have super cool built in battle armor!"

I'm not sure what a snail battle would really look like, but I'm sure he's got one playing through his head right now. "But if one of us turns into a frog we could just reverse it with a kiss, right? Isn't that the way the spell usually works?"

"Oh...oh yeah, good point."

I coughed a bit. "Okay, but on a more serious note: yes, you can change your mind any time. Just let me know, obviously."

"Well the only thing I can think of now is about Riku...I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with him seeing any...stuff between us."

I nodded. It was a perfectly valid thing to be worried about. We certainly didn't want Riku to feel alienated or uncomfortable by us canoodling with each other and almost forcing him to either watch or leave.

"No, it's alright, I agree. I think we should keep things normal around him unless he specifically says he is alright with it."

And, now that I considered Riku… "So, my next rule...I know that you talk with him about practically everything, and for the most part I think that's fine. But if something in the future ever comes up that I _really_ don't want you to share with him I need you to do your best to keep it a secret between us, okay?"

He was looking a bit hesitant about this and I don't blame him. "Um, I don't want to say I can't but...I've never been able to keep a secret from him. Like, ever."

"Oh, I know. But it doesn't hurt to try." I'm pretty sure even if there was some secret like that Riku would weasel it out of him eventually anyway. I just didn't want him going running to him with everything if it can be helped.

He clenched his fists. "I'll do my best!"

"Perfect. Is there anything else?"

I saw him contemplating things again. "Could you not tell your parents about this right away?"

"I can't lie to them if they ask." Not to mention they are definitely doing to suspect something is up, I wasn't exactly hiding the fact that I was having boy troubles lately. And now I'm probably not going to be able to hide how happy I am, so...

"I know, but..." He bounced his heels off the tree lightly looked a bit put out.

"Besides, if they think we're sneaking around their backs they are going to be even less likely to trust you, don't you think?"

He groaned and rubbed his neck. "I guess so...I just sort of thought I should be the one to say something."

"It's not like we are getting married or something! But if it makes you feel better we can tell them together. My mom is pretty sharp so it might have to be sooner rather than later." I giggled at the look on his face the minute I mentioned my mom.

"Oh geez, your mom..." He shivered. "Do you think she's going to change the house rules on me again?"

"You mean like how you aren't allowed up in my room any more? Most likely. She'll probably also check up constantly when I'm over at your house or get your mom to spy on us."

"Can we... _not_ tell her? Ever? Can that be a rule?"

"Sora..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know...okay, the rule is we'll try to tell them together as soon as we can!" He declared this so proudly, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be the one to push him into doing it. He _hates_ confronting my mom.

"Maybe we can tell your parents after mine. Otherwise your mom is going to spill it to everyone."

He chuckled a bit to himself. "Yeah...she's not a very good gatekeeper for secrets, is she?"

"As far as rules go, can you think of anything else?"

He frowned and shook his head, so I decided now was probably the time to bring up the last...awkward one.

"So, the last one for me is a little...sudden, I suppose. But unless we are going swimming or something contextual like that, you wouldn't mind a general rule to keep our clothes on, would you?"

I think he _actually_ squeaked in shock. He stuttered for a while before nodding at me. "That's f-fine and, uh...K-Kairi, I'll leave you in charge of deciding all the rules on that stuff, okay?"

I clapped, ready to move off that topic as fast as possible. "Great! Then maybe we'll call it a day for now. It's probably getting super late and I can't have my parents getting too suspicious, can I? Especially since I can't _tell_ them."

He sagged, looking a bit sad around the edges. "So...that means I have to wait at least..." He counted on his fingers "At _least_ twelve hours, maybe even thirteen before I can kiss you again?"

He really was an adorable goof sometimes.

"Sorry, but they do say that absence makes the heart grow fonder!" I jumped off the tree and started making my way back to the boat dock.

"Wait! Maybe I can squeeze in one or two more really fast before we go?"

"I dunnooo...I'm already half-way to the booooats." I picked up the pace, giggling a little as he scrambled to get down off the tree and chase after me.

Just as his feet touched the ground I broke into a run. I raced down the stairs and out through the small shack. Rather than follow me, he opted to jump down off the roof and I felt his fingers just miss my back, brushing against my hair. I spun around and pointed behind me.

"You need to get your bag, remember?"

I could see him actually torn between going back for it or just abandoning it altogether in favor of pouncing on me. I slowed, gathering up my shoes, giving him time to slip through the door and retrieve it. He charged back out of the shack, shouting a hasty goodbye to the little gecko before finally tackling me halfway across the beach to the dock.

He laughed triumphantly, clutching me tight, his fingers tickling my stomach sending a whole mixture of good feelings through me. I giggled and tried one last time to escape, but he swung me around to face him and I relented happily.

He nuzzled his nose against mine, brushing my chin with his thumb and finger. "Just one more for tonight?"

I gazed into those smiling, sparkling eyes and nodded. "Make it count."

And he did.


	16. Sora: A Little Rulebreaking

I continued staring down the path she had taken back home, wishing I could will her back to me for even just a second or two more. A handful of cold water smacked across my face and I spluttered. Riku was sitting there looking super smug again. As if he even did anything! Well...I suppose I can at least give him credit for keeping Selphie at bay. That couldn't have been easy.

I wasn't really even sure what to say. Everything felt so unreal around me, like I was walking around in that fuzzy stupor after too long of a nap. Except...better.

Riku cleared his throat to try and get my attention again. "Smile any wider and you'll give yourself a headache."

"I can't help it..."

He yanked me backwards by my hood and I dropped down to the dock next to him.

"I'd ask you how it was, but you'll probably just end up rattling off every single synonym for fantastic until I stop you."

"It was more than fantastic..." I breathed out, flopping down on my back, arms stretched up above my head. "Why did it take me so long to do that!? All that time I wasted..."

"I have no idea. You're a total mystery sometimes."

It must have been written so obviously on my face when we finally brought our boats back up here and met up with him again. I didn't even have to say anything before Riku had already jumped on me to teasingly wrestle me around. I'm glad he seemed genuinely happy about it, too.

Laughter just bubbled up from inside of me and I couldn't stop it. I could still remember how she felt: so soft and warm, slightly wet...but in a completely good way, all saturated with her flowery intoxicating scent that poured into me, hypnotizing me. I thought if I just kissed her once it would relieve that urge to get closer to her, but it felt hungrier than ever now.

I needed more.

I needed more of her indescribable sweet, yet slightly tart taste on my tongue. The light tickle of her hair against my face, her breath warm against my cheek, when she giggles against me and I can feel it through my whole body…

Everything about it felt good. _Really_ good.

Another handful of water splashed down onto my face. Some went up my nose this time and I spluttered, sitting up to cough it out.

"Come on, lover boy. It's getting late. If you're just going to lay there daydreaming I'm going to go home."

I sighed, turning my eyes back to where Kairi no longer was. "Sorry..."

He laughed and clumped me on the back for at least the fifth time tonight. "I suppose I can give you a pass tonight. Though, I do have one question."

"Hm?"

"If anyone asks, am I allowed to say that you're dating, now?"

I felt that bubbling happiness swelling back up inside of me. "Yeah...yeah, I guess we are!"

"Don't get _too_ excited. Having a girlfriend is going to be a lot of work."

"I don't even care! It's the _best_ work." I jumped to my feet and felt like I had so much extra energy I had to spin in another circle.

"You say that now..."

He's probably just jealous that I've got to experience all the joy that a kiss could be. I gave him a sneaky smile and knew immediately he figured out what I was thinking.

He shoved me away from him, trying hard not to smile himself. "You'd better appreciate how lucky you are to have a girl like her."

I crossed my heart solemnly with my finger. "Trust me, I know!"

" _Don't mess it up_." His tone all at once was quite serious, his eyes flashing at me dangerously.

I faltered, not expecting the sudden shift at all. "R-right…"

"I mean it, Sora. You'd better be good to her. Don't do anything stupid."

His protective side was showing. I just shook my head and gave him a shove back. "Hey, come on. It's me!"

"...yeah, exactly the problem."

I narrowed my eyes and puffed out a blast of air at his face indignantly. He ruffled my hair in response.

"In all honesty, I'm both relieved she picked you, but I can't help but still be a little...concerned because of that, too."

" _Uh-huh_...and what's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

He stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Before you get too insulted: I'd much rather her date you than anyone else. You two are a good fit. I know you'll give her the respect and care she deserves, and she's got the right saintly patience to deal with your crap. Besides, if you _do_ mess anything up I know I can always kick your butt."

"Hey!"

"But I am concerned because, let's face it, you kind of just stumble your way through things most of the time. And things are no doubt going to get complicated now and again."

I frowned. " _Great_ pep talk..."

"I'm not trying to discourage you. Just so we're clear: if a problem does happen, I'll do what I can to help."

"You always do!"

His eyes flashed at me again. "Sora, that doesn't mean I'll necessarily be able to fix it. That's why I need you to be extra careful. I don't want you two falling apart over this."

I knew he meant well, but I couldn't help but feel like he was being a little ridiculous. What could possibly happen? "Riku, I'm glad you're looking out for us. I'm definitely going to take this seriously. When it comes to her, she's..."

He followed my eyes and we both began to stare in the direction of her house. "I know. I'm not doubting you. I just thought it needed to be said."

"Besides, even if dating her doesn't work out, she'll always be my friend."

He laughed, to my relief. At least he wasn't being all weirdly threatening anymore. "Coming from you, I don't doubt that." He gestured with his thumb in the direction of his own place. "Were you going to sleep over tonight?"

"Nah, I should go home...my mom's probably worried."

"Are you going to tell her?"

I tipped my head back and forth. "Well...you know how she is about keeping secrets..."

"Yeah, she's worse than you."

"So...I'm going to try to keep it quiet for at least a few days. Until we can tell Kairi's parents at least."

Riku scoffed. "...we? Good luck with that one. Doesn't her mom freak you out? Why not let her just do it?"

"I dunno. I just felt like I should be there..."

He rolled his eyes and started off down the path. "It's not like you're getting married..."

"That's exactly what she said! I just don't see what's wrong with wanting to give a good impression." I mean, what could it hurt, right? Something about hiding from it and making Kairi deal with telling them just felt...wrong. Her dad was already crazy protective as it is. And I know he always preferred Riku over me...

I was hoping maybe if I told them myself I could get at least a few points in their favor.

"Sora, they already know you pretty well. I mean, remember the time you ate too much cotton candy after the school festival and got sick in their-"

"Whoa! Stop! Why would you remind me of that!?" I smacked my hand into my face. I _really_ regret that day. So, so much.

"But I suppose it would show them you are taking things seriously."

"Exactly!"

"Alright, then. I'll make sure to keep it under wraps at my house then, as well."

I knew he'd have my back with this, as irrational as I am sometimes. "Thanks."

"But you'd better act fast. I doubt Selphie is going to keep _her_ mouth shut long."

Speaking of Selphie, I never did get a chance to see her tonight. She was already gone by the time Kairi and I got back to the mainland. It made me almost wonder how Riku had managed to scare her off. "What did you two talk about today, anyway?"

He waved his arm dismissively. "Not much. I mostly had to keep wrestling her binoculars away. Got another earful about what a jerk I am, too."

He was joking about it, but I could tell he still felt really bad about everything that happened. Hopefully it doesn't take as long as usual for him to forgive himself. I hate seeing him so miserable, but his humility borders on infuriating sometimes. We started drawing closer to where our paths split and I slowed, feeling a bit apprehensive about leaving him. Maybe I really should just stay over at his house tonight. Part of me felt super guilty that she chose me in the end, especially knowing that he used to like her too.

"Hey, Riku? Um...are you gonna be okay wi-"

He clicked his tongue and prodded me in the chest. "I already talked this over with you...how many times? For at _least_ half the entire trip back out here..."

"I know, but..."

I needed to be sure. Completely sure that I wasn't going to be hurting him by being with Kairi. If there was even the slightest possibility that he was going to be hurt by it, well...I'm not sure what I would do, but I certainly wouldn't want him to have to hide it.

He gripped my shoulders and shook them slightly, staring right into my eyes. "Sora, you trust me, right?"

I nodded.

"Then believe me when I tell you: I. Am. Okay." He released me. "I am happy for you, happy for her. I think it's going to be one of the best things to happen to you and I'm glad I can be here for you."

Seeing Riku smile like that is pretty rare. One look and it's obvious he's telling the truth. I felt myself beaming again from that absolutely unending fountain of joy I felt pouring through me. Before he could stop me, I wrapped him in a huge hug, pinning his arms down under mine. He spluttered out in shock and before he could fight it I had already released him and was running back up the path towards my house.

"See ya tomorrow!"

He was grumbling something at me, but he was smiling still.

There's no way I'm getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

She was just so...perfect. Delicate and perfect. Sometimes I felt like I shouldn't touch her in case she shattered under my clumsy fingers. But at the same time I knew she would tease me for thinking something like that; especially since I know she's a lot stronger than she looks. She can definitely kick my butt at tennis, that's for sure.

There was also something, I dunno...exciting, about watching her play the game out there. She gets this indescribably beautiful determined look in her eyes, and a light flush in her face, not to mention that adorable smile she gets when her hit follows through. It's even better when she scores a point, though—she does this little celebration hop and...ungh, I _really_ like that uniform.

I want to run over and kiss her right now but she probably wouldn't be too happy about that, considering the entire tennis team is here. I waited at the edge of the field, trying not to get hit by rogue tennis balls, also trying not to be too obvious about where my eyes were choosing to focus. I know Kairi doesn't want our relationship to be the center of gossip at school, but I'm still confused if that means I should be keeping it a secret as much as possible or not. I really hope once we tell her mom things can get a little more open. Trying to be subtle about how I feel is really, really hard.

I smacked my cheeks a little, trying to wake some sense up into my head. Just hearing her voice makes me feel fuzzy. Not to mention the fact that she sits so close to me all day during school. Every time she stretches I can see that little bit of skin at the nape of her neck and I just want to lean over and...uuugh, stop thinking about her! I'll never get a clear head this way!

It was like kissing her that one time opened a whole floodgate of things I had been holding back for so long. I felt frustratingly out of control all the time.

Thankfully it seemed like practice was wrapping up. She skipped over to where I was, and started packing up her bag. I lifted it up for her and handed her the water bottle to hold instead. She put it up to her lips and sipped it eagerly, thanking me.

Great...

I frowned. I'm jealous over an inanimate object again…

She laughed and shoved me a little. "What's with that face?"

"It's nothing." I certainly wasn't going to tell her what I was thinking about. "You just need to go get changed, right?"

"Yeah, I would, but apparently some girls spotted a snake wander in the locker rooms and I don't particularly want to sit around waiting for them to chase it back out. I'll just get washed up at home."

My heart skipped a beat. "So...you're going to wear your uniform a bit longer?"

She pursed her lips, analyzing me carefully. "Mm-hmm. Any particular reason you look so happy about that news?"

I tried adjusting my face to normal. "N-No..."

She giggled. "You are a terrible liar. Anyway, I need to help you with your work today, right?"

She said this a bit loudly like she was trying to hint at something and I was a little confused. We didn't really have a lot of homework today, actually. And none of it was really that hard… I saw her sigh and she leaned forward to whisper more quietly to me.

"It's a good excuse, don't you think?"

Oh! Right! I guess we really are going to try to tell her parents today. I swallowed. Why did I insist on this again? I kind of wish I could take it back…

"Don't get so nervous..." She reached out to take her bag out from my hand, but lingered a bit, giving my fingers a soft squeeze.

Somehow she was always able to calm me down.

We started down the road towards her house and I playfully swung her racket around. It's so different compared to swinging a sword. Though I suppose it does use similar arm muscles. She smiled at me.

"You always put way too much force into it. That's why the balls always end up blasting through the fence."

"They just need to make the court longer..."

"Or maybe you need to stop seeing the ball as an enemy to clobber and more as an extension of the force you put behind it."

I shrugged. "Bad habit, I guess. I swing without really thinking."

She laughed and snatched the racket back from me. "And that's exactly why you're banned from using the school courts."

I glanced back over my shoulder towards the tennis area, noticing that there didn't seem to be anyone around at the time. Maybe we could finally be alone for a little while…

I slid a bit closer to her side, crossing my arms so I could subtly brush the back of hers with my hand hidden under my own elbow. I felt her shiver a little and she tapped me playfully in the chest with the end of the racket.

"Not until we are a bit further away from school."

Definitely not the answer I wanted to hear, but I guess I understand. I started pressing my speed a bit along the path, glancing back at her. She smiled, and decided to match my slightly increased pace. Before she could fall in line with me, I started going even faster still, breaking into a slight jog.

"Hey!"

She did a little skip trying to close the gap between us but I kept myself just a few steps ahead of her, increasing in speed every time she got close to reaching me.

It wasn't long before we were both running, crossing the river into the residential districts. She was starting to fall behind a bit more and she called out to me slightly exasperated.

"This isn't fair! I have all my stuff!"

I slowed, circling back. I reached out to grab her bag from her but she dodged to the side and wrapped her hand around that stupid uniform tie I had to wear, using it to yank me off the path into a small cluster of trees.

I never liked that tie before, but having her use it like her personal handhold to pull me where she likes is certainly an interesting perk. She backed herself into a tree and dropped both her racket and bag to the ground, still urging me forward by my neck.

She didn't need to say anything for me to understand what she wanted. I eagerly grabbed her, relishing every single moment of that sweet, tart, dreamlike taste of hers. It was hands down the best thing ever. I pressed closer to her, changing my target of focus to the soft skin on her neck. She shivered and gave me an incredibly coy protest. Something about being sweaty.

"I don't care about that, I've been wanting to do this all day."

I felt her sigh into me and my whole world spun.

* * *

Her mom stared at me from across the table. I fidgeted and started rustling through my bag, trying to look busy, but every time I glanced back up she was still staring me down.

"B-busy day at town hall today?" I tried to start any kind of small talk, desperate to end the silent burn of her eyes.

She pursed her lips and nodded at me, still staring.

Kairi, please finish up your shower and get down here soon...

Hmm. Showering...maybe right now she was all...sudsy and, oh no.

I swallowed and tried as hard as I could to scrub any thoughts of Kairi out of my head as fast as possible. I stared down at the physics paper I had yet to complete as part of my makeup work, hoping that might help my brain switch topics. Right! Let's see, we've got the second law of thermodynamics and...h-heat transfer…plus the basics of e-elastic c-collision…

I groaned inwardly. Yeah, that's not helping me at all. Her mom was _really_ eyeing me now. I gave a weak laugh.

"P-Physics makes me feel dumb." I winced. Oh man I did _not_ just say that, did I? How stupid and weird. She's going to think I'm an idiot.

She shrugged at me and sighed. "Is that so? I heard from Kairi that you were surprisingly not too bad at it."

I relaxed a bit in relief. "It's...easier than some things. Not sure why."

"Maybe because simply observing how things operate in the real world is a very clear, concrete thing to do. It involves very little theoretical guesswork if you have the right numbers..."

"Y...yeah, I guess so..." Whatever that meant.

She tapped her fingers sharply across the top of the table and I gulped again. Why is it that everything she does always seems so threatening? One at a time, her fingertips thunked down, her nails clacking against the wood.

"So...other than school work, how is your life going? Kairi seemed so awfully worried about you a while ago then suddenly I'm not hearing about a single thing"

"O-oh, well that's uh...she was probably worried because Riku and I had a misunderstanding about something and she thought I was mad about...it."

"Oh dear. Cleared up now, I imagine?"

"Yeah!" I tried to smile up at her perkily, but her eyes crushed me back down.

"I was just curious because I had heard a very strange thing from Kairi the other day. And she was asking quite a lot of questions about boys. Then, of course, there was that rumor floating around the office..."

I felt my heart stop and I froze. Was it possible she already figured it out? And if so, here I was, alone, about to get devoured.

She continued, her eyes flashing. "It seems common knowledge around your high school that Riku tried to kiss my little girl at the festival and she turned him down. Your...fight with Riku wouldn't have been because of that? Or, was it something else?"

I had no idea how to answer this question, so I decided to just try and dodge it the best I could. "T-That's funny! It's crazy how high school rumors can end up as town office gossip like that!" I laughed unconvincingly.

"Well, quite a few of your classmates' parents work there. And of course, I know it's true because Kairi confessed that much to me already."

"Oh."

"But I still can't help but feel I'm not getting the whole picture. You wouldn't know anything... _else_ , would you?"

"A-about Riku and Kairi? Not really! Just that they managed to work things out and everything is all okay now!" I spluttered this out as quickly as I could, hoping she would drop the issue.

"Hmm...so it's definitely not Riku, then?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"It's not Riku: the boy my little Kairi has been getting all giddy over." She gave me a twisted smile and I couldn't tell if it was meant to be a threat or not.

But one thing was clear: she definitely knew. Or...suspected strongly, I guess. I was still in full panic mode, but couldn't help but smile a little when I thought about what her mom had said.

"S-She's been...g-giddy?"

"Absolutely floating."

Well that was a nice boost to my confidence. Still...I can't keep dodging her questions forever. I might as well just come out and say something. If it gets really nasty I can always just jump out the window.

I shakily shut my folder of papers and looked at her mom. If I can fight the legions of darkness, I can do this.

"So, the truth is...Kairi and I, uh...we're-"

The door to the kitchen clacked open and I halted immediately. Kairi was standing there, giving me a calming smile and I felt all my panic wash away. Sure, she wasn't really wearing anything special: just some lounging pants and a t shirt, but she looked absolutely beautiful. She gave a confused eye towards me, but before she could ask and before I could even begin to explain, her mom was already out of her seat wrapping her up in a hug.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so happy for you. Growing up so fast and getting her first boyfriend!"

"E-eh…?" Kairi peeked out over her mom's arms at me and I blinked back at her in confusion.

"I know he certainly isn't your father's first choice, but if he makes you this happy then neither of us can really argue against it. At least you picked a nice sweet one who will be easy to keep under your thumb."

She whispered something else in Kairi's ear and she turned bright red. "M-mom?! That's..."

Kairi released herself from her mother's embrace and mouthed over towards me. _Did you tell her?_

I shook my head no, somewhat hesitantly. I didn't, really. Or...did I?

"Oh, it's fine. I had my suspicions and just needed to weasel a confirmation out of him."

"But I-" Her mom scurried over and wrapped me in a hug this time. Wait...her mom is hugging me? Has she _ever_ hugged me? I've never seen her so...cuddly. I froze, not sure what to do. She lowered her mouth down to my ear and mumbled to me in a very low voice.

"I'm _very_ watchful, you know."

She pulled me tighter and I glanced at Kairi hesitantly.

"Mom, are you threatening him?" She put her hands on her hips in frustration.

Her mom released me and waved her hand nonchalantly through the air. "Of course not. I'll leave the threatening to your father."

I sagged in my chair. Great…

"Mom, you don't have to be so worried. It's Sora, after all..."

I guess that was a compliment?

"Yes. But after all he _is_ a boy. A love struck, hormonal teenage boy."

"Mom!"

I shrank further down into my chair. This was so, so, incredibly awkward. I could see Kairi was getting really embarrassed too. Why did I think telling her mom was going to be a good idea again? Maybe because it wasn't fair to make Kairi handle all of this on her own. I shakily cleared my throat and sat up a little bit.

"Uh...if it helps you feel any better, we've already discussed some rules and stuff about different things and if Kairi puts a restriction on something, there's no way I'd ever-"

Her mom clapped loudly and pulled out an envelope hidden underneath the fruit bowl. I could see there were two, but she only grabbed the one, handing it swiftly over to me. "I had a feeling one of you two would try to date my girl at some point so I prepared these in advance."

I took the envelope, noticing that it had my name neatly written across the front in very rigid, plain writing; leaving no hints about who it could be for. I assume the other was written up for Riku in case she had picked him instead. "Thanks...I guess? What is it?"

"New house rules. Kindly memorize them and put them into practice immediately."

"Huh?" I opened the envelope and withdrew a ridiculously long paper, numbered with bullet points well past the forties. "H-how many rules are-"

"Seventy-six."

I blinked back at her, speechless. How can someone possibly write seventy six new rules _and_ expect me to also somehow remember them all? Kairi took it from me and scanned it over herself quickly.

"These are... _really_ specific. How is he possibly supposed to remember all of this?"

Yeah, exactly!

"I certainly expect a transgression or two when first starting out. What I care more about is the effort put behind it."

I glanced at a few of the numbered items I could read from where I was sitting.

 _Rule 17: If neither Kairi's mother or father are at home, Sora is strictly forbidden from coming inside. Rule 18: If he is already invited inside but both parents must leave for errands i.e shopping, Sora is no longer welcome to stay. Rule 19: Whenever Sora and Kairi are together in the home, for schoolwork or otherwise, they must leave all doors open to ensure consistent check-ups are possible._

It was undoubtedly going to be a bit frustrating, but nothing _too_ ridiculous, I guess. "...I'll try my bes-"

Kairi held up a hand to stop me from agreeing right away, taking the list back. "Hold on. Mom, there are a few things here that I don't agree with. I mean...rule 7, Kairi is not allowed to go to the island together with Sora without a suitable chaperone present!?"

I sat up in alarm. "Wait, what?"

"That island is far too remote to trust two teenagers together."

Kairi shook her head furiously. "But that's our—we've _always_ gone there."

"And that's certainly going to change."

"This is ridiculous. Mom, I understand you wanting the best for me. I also understand that you can control what rules you set while we are in this house, but trying to impose restrictions like that is just cruel. You need to trust me and trust him, because there is certainly no way we aren't going to find ways to be alone together. Taking away our childhood is not protecting me." She stomped her foot in frustration.

I expected her mom to get angry, but she just clicked her tongue and took the list back, glancing over it. "I suppose I can trim a few things here and there."

Both Kairi and I both breathed out a sigh of relief in unison. While it seemed like Kairi had already made some good points, I figured it couldn't hurt to say something else to help the issue.

"I just wanted to say one thing, if I could..."

Her mom nodded over to me, somewhat distractedly still staring at her list, scribbling at it with a pen.

"I know that you've never believed half of the stuff that happened during those times that we disappeared before, but you've always at least seemed to accept the fact that the three of us will always do everything we can to protect each other."

I saw Kairi smiling at me, and I continued. "And, well...I think you know how much that trust between us really saved us when things got really scary and difficult. I obviously don't know everything about how relationships work but that connection and trust is really, really important to me. I wouldn't ever do anything to risk losing that."

Her mom set her pen down and stared at me over folded fingers propping up her chin. "I suppose that is very true..." She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, slowly letting it out. "You have always been a very kind, sensitive child."

"He's still the same way." Kairi quickly and gently brushed her fingers against the side of my arm.

"Yes, well, I... _suppose_ I am being a bit irrational and assigning too much suspicion simply due to his gender. For that I apologize."

"I-it's fine...you just want to keep Kairi safe." I definitely wasn't used to his mom apologizing to _me_.

"Then we are on the same page. I'll loosen the rules, but as a compromise would you two please do your best to be responsible?"

Kairi agreed promptly. "Of course. Besides, if Sora _does_ do anything wrong, Riku will be right there to smack some sense into him."

I laughed a little. "Yeah..."

Her mom came back around and gave Kairi a much more comforting hug this time. "You've grown up so fast, both of you..."

Kairi hugged her mother back gently. "Um, about dad…?"

"Don't worry about him." She gave me a little wink. "But, Sora, you might not want to come around to the house for a few days. If that's alright?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess?" What am I going to do, argue with her? I don't want to come anywhere near this house for like...at least a whole month.

Her mom pulled back and, still with her hands on Kairi's shoulders, gave her a suspicious look. "So...I'll be asking you some more... _private_ things a bit later. Until then I suppose I should let you two get some work done."

Work? Oh, right. Physics. Yay…

She gathered up her papers and gave a small wave before heading towards the door, glancing back at me as she left. I couldn't quite tell what meaning was behind the look she gave me.

Once she had gone, Kairi abruptly turned and hugged my arm tightly. "You did really well."

I scratched the back of my head with my free arm. "Nah...I think you were the one who did most of the talking. Sorry I didn't manage to wait until you got back, she just started asking me all this stuff about you and Riku and then suddenly it was about me and I didn't want to just lie about it..."

"Like I said, you did just fine. I should have been a bit faster getting back down here."

She let go and I took my seat again behind this daunting stack of work I really didn't want to think about. "Yeah, why did you take so long anyway?"

Huffing, she pulled a chair closer to me and sat down. "You might not understand this but sometimes it's hard to figure out what to wear."

"Why is it hard? You'd look fine in anything, even in just a towel." I said it without thinking and froze, kind of regretting it. "Uh, I mean..."

Luckily, she didn't seem to be too mad. "Oh? And how would you know what that looks like?"

I didn't really have an answer for that one. I couldn't just blurt out something like 'oh, I dunno, I just pictured it in my head and it was really nice'. To be honest it really did just slip out. She saw me struggling and flicked my forehead.

"I'm just kidding, you goof. I know what you meant. And, thank you." She pulled over her own book bag and got out the papers. Luckily it was just a days worth of make up work, but it was still annoying. At least I wasn't having to do it alone. I smiled over at her and she leaned in a bit closer to me.

"Hey, Sora? I was just thinking...would you like to come to Ikebana with me tomorrow? I...wanted to ask you ever since you told me you had been studying them, and..."

Her flower arranging club? I definitely wouldn't be any good at something like that. Before I could answer she quickly interjected again.

"I don't expect you to make one! I just thought maybe since you had been putting in all that effort to learn some flowers, maybe I could show you what it's like to put an arrangement together. Or...maybe that's not interesting at all...sorry, it was a silly thought..."

It was almost painfully obvious that she was just really excited to share her hobby with me. I guess because she had it in her head for so long that neither Riku or I would be interested in it she hadn't ever considered inviting us to join her before. I guess that was why I learned all those flower names, though—might as well give it a try.

"Sure, I'll go. I'll even try it out too, but you'll have to promise me you won't just throw me out there without any direction."

She practically squealed and jumped out of her chair, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. I tried to ignore the fact that her chest was pressing into the side of my head but that was essentially impossible. Luckily she let go pretty quickly and bounced back to her chair, her face flushed with excitement. "Sora, this is...I'm so happy! I've been wanting you or Riku to come for the longest time!"

She made no sense sometimes. "Then why didn't you ask?"

"I didn't want you to be bored..."

"Hey, I can't guarantee that I'll like it, but I'll give it a fair chance. It's important to you, after all."

She just looked at me with such happy eyes, I really wanted to kiss her again. But knowing that her mom was probably lurking just outside made me second guess doing that right now. I only just managed to get back into her good graces; I don't want to mess it up again. Kairi must have been feeling the same way so she kicked off her slipper and gently rubbed her sock against the back of my leg. Trying to tease me, huh? Two can play at that. I grinned at her and pushed myself a bit forward so I could easily reach under the table and rest my hand on her knee.

She pointed down to the papers in front of us. "Time to study heat transfer. That's funny timing, isn't it?"

"Just a bit." I squeezed her knee and she giggled, pulling away a little.

"Hey, that tickles!"

"Oops, sorry about that..." I said, making it very clear that I wasn't actually all that sorry.

She gave me a teasing, warning look then moved her leg back so I could return my hand to where it was. "You watch it, buster."

I still could barely believe how much things had changed. But none of it was bad. It almost felt like because the two of us were both so happy, nothing bad could ever happen again.

* * *

I examined the assorted piles of flowers, absolutely lost.

"But...which ones are good?"

"They're all good. Just pick what you like." Kairi waved me back towards the stack with what I assume were meant to be encouraging words but her advice didn't really help at all.

I frowned at them, trying my hardest to ignore the crowd of girls in the club giggling and casting glances over at me. I can't tell if it's just because I'm maybe one of the first guys to come visit the club or if it's because I'm doing something horribly wrong and don't realize it.

Well, might as well dive in since there's nothing I can do about either of those things. I raised my arms and jokingly twiddled my fingers over the stack of flowers, eliciting more giggles from the club. She said to pick three to start with, so…

I dumped my choices down on the table in front of her and she stared.

"I've definitely never used those three together before."

I slumped a little. "No good?"

She shook her head and smiled, lying out all the other supplies on the table. "No, I'm saying it's going to be a fun challenge. Let's give it a try."

As she set up her work space, I noticed what felt like someone staring intently at me, refusing to look away. I glanced around the room and noticed one girl in the club in particular sitting alone in the back who I definitely recognized. Oh! Ophelia, right? I hadn't seen her at all since before the festival. I noticed she had her eyes locked firmly on me and I offered a cheery wave, but she quickly looked down at her shoes.

Hm? Was she mad?

Kairi clapped, having just finished setting all the stuff out. "Okay, we have two sets of everything so I'll make one first and you can watch. Then you can try."

"Sounds good to me!"

"But first, let me explain all the tools here..." Kairi was clearly excited, moving from object to object, picking it up and putting it back down again like she couldn't decide where she wanted to begin.

I waited for her to gather her thoughts, and then she launched into a very enthusiastic explanation of everything on the table. Her passion was inspiring.

When she was done with the basic lesson, she laid all the flowers out in front of her and puzzled over them for a moment, almost as if she was trying to piece the arrangement together in her head first. She was really cute when he concentrated like that. I pulled a funny face right next to her, wondering how long it would take her to notice. It was maybe twenty seconds or so, but when she did she burst out laughing and shoved me a little.

"Silly, I'm trying to think here."

"And I'm trying to give you a challenge, remember?"

She suddenly leaned forward like she was going to kiss me. I panicked and pulled back, considering we were surrounded by her club mates right now. She quickly realized her mistake and flushed, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited I wasn't thinking..."

I tried to brush it off and gave her a shrug. "Hey, it's fine. I'm glad you're happy."

Though, this did make me wonder if maybe she would rescind the whole 'no affection at school' rule at some point. It had barely been a week and the two of us were already almost slipping up several times. It was also incredibly frustrating to deny her a kiss when I knew she wanted one. Ugh...I wanted to invent an excuse to duck into an empty classroom with her for a few minutes. I wonder what sort of excuse I could possibly give for that? 'I forgot my bag?' No...I'm carrying that with me. 'I forgot my pencil?' No…that's a bit too unbelievable.

I noticed a shadow pause over the two of us and I looked up to see a girl in the club I didn't recognize with really curly hair staring down at the two of us intently. I greeted her cheerfully but she just stared blankly for a minute before turning to Kairi.

"Hey, so...Mei and I were just wondering: are those rumors about you and Riku true?"

Another girl, Mei I guess, came darting over. "Yeah, fess up!"

Kairi snipped a leaf off one of the flowers and sighed. "No. Absolutely not."

"Rumors? What rumors?" I tried asking, but the girls still barely glanced at me.

The girl, whose name I still didn't know, leaned closer over the table. "Well, cuz Selphie has _definitely_ been suggesting that you have a boyfriend now."

I froze. Kairi put the small trimming scissors down and looked at the girl who was standing there, waiting, twirling her hair on her finger. I wonder if that's why it was so curly. "I'm sorry but I'm really not comfortable discussing my private life..."

"Oh, come _on_. You've turned down just about every guy in our entire grade, and half of the others. Who else is even left? I have to know!"

"I have to know, too!" Mei bounced up and down on her toes.

I crossed my arms in frustration. So, not only did Kairi have to deal with all these guys, but apparently no one ever thought I had a chance with her? They all automatically just assumed she would get with Riku? Way to make a guy feel bad…I opened my mouth to say something but thought better of it and shut it again.

"All I'm going to say is, I did not kiss Riku. I am not dating Riku. And he definitely did not get depressed or angry about it." Kairi answered tersely.

"Then why did he storm out of school that Monday? Huuuh?"

"Probably the same reason he leaves school all the time. He and Sora have things to take care of."

They turned to look at me, almost as if to confirm that was true. I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hmm...Monday?" I pretended to consider this for a moment. "Right, yeah...he did come meet me. We had a lot of stuff to sort out. Busy day."

"Pft. Whatever." They looked thoroughly disappointed and left with a huff. Kairi smiled over at me and gave me a subtle wink. Once the girls were far enough away, she leaned over and whispered to me again.

"I'm sorry about that...you aren't upset, are you?"

I wasn't quite sure how to answer. I wasn't _that_ bothered by the idea that she was attractive to other guys. I mean, I get it. I was mostly just upset that I had no idea she was dealing with all that drama all the time. And...that everyone just writes me off like that. What am I, a stooge?

She ruffled my hair lovingly. "Just remember: at the end of the day, who did I pick? That's all that matters, isn't it?"

I nodded, smiling at her brightly. That's definitely true!

"Hey, Sora, would you mind grabbing me a towel from over by the sink, please?"

"Oh, sure, no problem."

She thanked me as I went over to try and quickly fetch what she'd asked. As soon as I stood up I noticed Ophelia also abruptly stand and charge over towards the sink so she could reach it before me. Maybe she was worried I needed help finding something? However, instead of offering advice or help she just cut right in front of me and stood there, washing her hands incredibly thoroughly. Huh. That's odd. Maybe she just really hates dirt.

I opened the small cabinet next to the sink and tried pulling out only one towel but they were all stuck together so I had to unfold a few and refold them back. The entire time she was standing there, putting more and more soap on her hands. I was starting to suspect if she was even washing her hands at all. It seemed like a really inefficient way of doing it.

"Uh...you okay? You didn't cut yourself, did you?" I glanced down at her hands just to check to make sure she wasn't trying to clean up an injury or something and accidentally bumped a bit into her arm.

She yelped and jumped away, surprised by my touch, splashing water everywhere. I fell back in surprise, but she managed to get some all across the front of my shirt. Her eyes widened and she stood frozen, looking absolutely mortified, trembling and everything.

"I-I'm s...so s-sorry..."

I quickly raised my hands and smiled as gently as I could at her in hopes it would help calm her down. "Hey, it's no problem, it's just some water. Besides, it's my fault."

"N-no, I..."

I laughed a little. "That's a pretty good defensive attack move, you know. Just too bad some of it got on you, too. You alright?" She nodded and I handed her the towel I was originally going to bring over to Kairi. "Here, you can use this if you need it. I'll get another one."

"Thank you..."

I fiddled with the towels again then finally brought one back to Kairi who was sitting there smiling at me. "Smooth moves champ." Her eyes shifted and focused somewhere behind me, suddenly looking sorrowful.

I took my seat and noticed she was staring over at Ophelia, who was still standing at the sink, staring at the water as if she was in a trance.

"What's wrong?"

Kairi hesitated and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Sora, what do you think of her?"

"Oh. She seems a bit shy, a little lonely, but nice..." I trailed off, noticing that Kairi was definitely upset about something.

Ophelia also looked pretty embarrassed still about the water thing and she shuffled out of the room, probably to go clean herself up in the bathroom.

"So..." I was hoping to draw more out of her. She hadn't really answered my earlier question.

Kairi watched Ophelia go and she sighed heavily, wringing her hands together in her lap. "Sora, she...oh, I feel awful about this...I didn't even think about it when I invited you here, and..."

I tilted my head with a frown. "What is it?"

"She told me a while ago that she had a crush on you."

Before I could react, she quickly slapped a finger over my mouth to keep me quiet.

"Before I realized how I felt about..." She glanced around the room to see if anyone was listening. "Before I realized you-know-what, I gave her...dating advice...about you."

She switched from just a finger to clamping her whole hand down over my mouth as I almost shouted out again in surprise. It came out muffled and the curly haired girl glanced over, rolled her eyes at me and turned back away. What's her problem, anyway?

Kairi removed her hand and I did my best to remain quiet.

"I feel just terrible, like I built up her hopes just to snatch what she wanted away before she could even...oh, this is so..."

A few things suddenly made a whole lot more sense to me. Is that what Riku had meant by a 'trap'? I guess that's also a big reason why Selphie had pushed to get me out of that weird situation with her and the decorations, too. Wow, I _was_ being pretty dumb about that, wasn't I? And...hey! I bet she _was_ trying to kiss me that time, too! I don't even know what I would have done if she had...

But still, frustrations at myself aside, Kairi was looking pretty dejected right now.

"Kairi, that's not your fault...you said you didn't know at the time, right?"

"Maybe I should have. When she asked me I felt so devastated at the thought of you dating...someone else..." She avoided my eyes and I tried really hard not to smile.

She got jealous! Over me!

She shook her head and stood up from the table. "Sora, I should go talk to her again."

I frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It's the right thing to do. I'll be back soon, okay? You just work on your flowers. I'd love to see it when I get back."

"But, don't you think I should-"

"I can handle it!" She rushed out the door after Ophelia and I could only give her a half-hearted wave before the door slid shut behind her.

I stared down at the pile of flowers in front of me. "Okay, I guess..."

I know once she set her mind on things like this it was going to be pointless to talk her out of it. But I really wasn't sure her going alone was a good idea. But I'm not sure how I could even help. Girl talk usually confused me. Maybe I'll wait a few minutes and then go check up on her.

Right, until then, let's give this arranging thing a go!

I glanced over at the one Kairi had half made, but hadn't finished, trying to do my best to follow at least some of the basics. I tried balancing some of the flowers against the other but it just wouldn't stay where I wanted it to. Just when I thought it was starting to stand up right, the door to the art room slammed open. The sudden sound jerked my hand forward and sent the arrangement clattering to the table.

Ophelia came storming into the room, ripping her bag off the chair and turned to leave. I stood up, expecting Kairi to come in after her but there was no sign of her. Ophelia's face looked absolutely furious.

"Hey, Phi, what's going on?" One of the other club girls tried to reach out to her but Ophelia just pushed past her out to the hallway.

I ran out after her, more worried about where Kairi could be. I rounded the corner I had seen her disappear behind and found the two of them. Ophelia was storming angrily over towards Kairi, who was looking really panicked and worried.

She tried reaching out, her voice pleading. "Ophelia, I'm so sorry I-"

Before I could even register the situation properly, I saw Ophelia's hand smack across Kairi's face, hard. She stumbled sideways into the lockers, clutching her face, absolutely shell shocked.

"Stop!"

I cleared the length of the hallway faster than I ever thought possible, watching as Ophelia raised her hand for another hit. I slid underneath, pressing Kairi up against the lockers momentarily to get a good grip around her before pulling her out of the way. Ophelia's hand crashed into the locker and she shrieked, hugging her hand close.

"So that's how it is, huh!?" She looked absolutely furious.

What the heck had even happened out here!? I ignored her for the moment and just checked on Kairi's face. I gently took her hand away from the side of her face and examined it closely. Her skin looked a little red, but she didn't seem seriously injured. She was shaking, looking stunned.

"She...slapped me..." She murmured softly, almost like she was saying it loud because she couldn't believe it had actually happened. It certainly didn't seem like something I would have expected her to do, either.

I felt Kairi hug close to my back as I turned to her attacker angrily. "Why would you do something so awful!?"

Ophelia had tears pouring out of her eyes and she pointed a shaking finger towards me. "You! You lied to me!"

"I-what?" I was dumbfounded.

"I thought you were different! That you wouldn't be like the others and..." She started choking on her own tears and I felt horrible. "Everyone always makes fun of me, plays jokes on me..."

"Ophelia, what are you talking about? I'm not trying to make fun of you! Who is doing that? That's horrible!" I wanted to try and help her, but I was worried she was going to attack Kairi again so I made sure to keep myself between them.

"D-don't act like you care! You're both heartless bullies just like the rest of them!"

A classroom door slid open and Quistis marched into the hallway, her eyes ablaze. " _What_ is going _on_ here!?" She turned to me, Kairi still shielded defensively behind me and she sighed.

"Takahashi and Kigasawa...why am I not surprised?"

What the heck was that supposed to mean?

Quistis placed a frustrated hand on her brow. "Though the lack of a certain Morizaki with you is unusual, I'll grant that. Unusual and...suspect." She focused her eyes on Kairi one more time and she frowned a little.

I'm not really sure why she's suspecting us just because Riku isn't here. We didn't even do anything! And he causes trouble all the time, too...

...At least her sudden appearance had somewhat worked to diffuse the tension in the hall. She turned to look at Ophelia who was still nursing her injured hand.

"And you're...Ophelia Laurent from B class, correct?"

Ophelia lowered her eyes, looking quietly sullen down at her feet.

Our homeroom teacher turned to me, looking...crosser than usual. "Now...who is going to explain this?"

Kairi straightened herself up and I nervously waited nearby in case she needed help. "I...it's my fault."

Whoa, wait a minute! "Kairi, hold on, you didn't do anything to deserve that!"

I'm pretty sure Quistis noticed the red mark on her face, the injury to Ophelia's hand and drew the correct conclusion from the two. "Ms. Laurent, I'm not in charge of your homeroom so I can't formally reprimand you, but I will definitely be making a report. I can't have you smacking my students around, no matter the reason. I'm afraid that's my job."

A job she definitely takes seriously...

Quistis put a hand on Kairi's shoulder and examined her face. "It doesn't seem too bad. Did you want to see the nurse?"

"N-no, I...I'll be fine."

Pulling away from her, Quistis gave me a very curt head nod. "Very well, I'll leave Kigasawa in your care. If need be, please make sure she gets the proper attention."

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her. Don't worry." I nodded back and she gave me a very strange smile, bending down to whisper something in my ear.

"And I suppose the proper attention isn't always medical in nature."

"Huh...?" What did _that_ mean? What was up with her today?

Quistis, now seemingly convinced that Kairi was alright, marched her way over to Ophelia and grabbed her by the arm. "As for you, young lady, I'll be taking you to the nurse first to get that hand looked at, then we can discuss what will be done with you."

I wanted to try and say something to her before Quistis dragged her off, but I really wasn't sure what to say. Once the hallway was empty again, I put my hand on Kairi's shoulder.

"What happened back there?"

Kairi's knees trembled and I saw tears starting to fill her eyes. She looked a little shocked still, but equally frustrated with herself. "I tried to explain everything to her, but...she said I mislead her on purpose..."

"But you didn't! I can completely understand her being disappointed about the situation, but she shouldn't be taking it out on you! You were only trying to help and never wanted to hurt her. How can she think you'd be that cruel to do it on purpose?"

Tears started rolling down her face and she brushed at them angrily, sobbing out something I couldn't understand. I rested my hand on her cheek a little, trying to comfort her in any way I could, but because of that stupid rule...

I glanced around quickly to check for anyone and pulled her around the corner into a small nook in the stairwell for privacy.

"Is it okay if I touch you now? Just a little?"

She looked like she was still trying to hold back more tears and could only wordlessly nod at me so I quickly hugged her against me, rubbing her shoulders until I could feel her stop shaking. She clutched at my chest, wrapping her hands around the cloth of my shirt. I heard her softly sniffle.

"I'm sorry...I must have gotten your shirt a little wet."

"It was wet already anyway."

"I feel like I've been nothing but a crybaby lately. It's awful..."

I know she hated crying. But I never thought tears made someone weak. It just shows that they have a lot to care about.

Her hands still clinging to my chest, she looked up at me, her eyes wide and misty from her tears. But she was still so, so beautiful. She lifted up onto her toes and sank her lips into mine before I could say anything in protest.

I should tell her to stop because we are in school, but I don't care at all right now. I immediately gave up any resistance and wrapped my arms around her. As soon as she pulled slightly away from me, I moved my lips over to her injured cheek and tried to will away whatever pain she had. I could lightly taste some of the salt from her tears and it sort of made me feel a pang of guilt over all of this. If only I had noticed Ophelia's intentions sooner...

Kairi still clung to me, her eyes closed, clearly still hurting.

"I know you feel bad about it, but she's taking her heartbreak out on you. Because even if you _had_ known you liked me at that time, and refused to give her any advice, it wouldn't have affected the outcome, right? She'd still have to deal with me not liking her back. Because I still would have chosen you. It's like she's blaming you for the two of us dating but that's completely ignoring my feelings about everything."

I realized, if anything, Ophelia should be slapping me. I never intended to, but I guess maybe she could have misunderstood what I told her about liking my friends as something more. So, if she was mad at me for that, then I'd try to apologize. But Kairi definitely didn't do anything!

She buried her face into my chest and sighed. "She said I...seduced you. So she couldn't have a chance. Turned you against her."

The thought of that was so ridiculous it would have been really funny if Kairi wasn't so upset right now. "I kissed you first, though."

"She doesn't know that..."

"Well, she obviously just doesn't know you very well."

"I hope she will be okay. I just was so caught up in everything lately I didn't even think about her until today. How selfish..."

"Kairi, stop...you aren't selfish because you were enjoying being happy. This whole thing is a problem because I'm too dumb to see when a girl likes me."

She sighed into me again, shook her head and remained silent, her heart still seeming quite heavy against me.

"Besides, if you're considered selfish because you were too happy I must be like...the most selfish person ever, because I enjoy seeing you smile so, so much. I never want you to have to apologize for or regret good times. I wish I could do something to make you happy now."

Stupid rules...

I heard her mumble something softly into my chest but I couldn't understand it.

"Hmm? Kairi I couldn't-"

She jumped at me, kissing me again so suddenly that I stumbled back into the edge of the wall. What was she doing...? I half expected this kiss to be short like the others, but she only pressed closer. There was something about the softness, the feel of her wet lips, it made my head buzz. She smiled against me and I felt her gently nibbling, pulling. She was so much more intense about this than usual, and my mind was having trouble keeping up. It felt like my body was just reacting to her, pulling her tighter against me.

We shouldn't be doing this...

Suddenly something incredibly warm and almost velvety pushed into my mouth and brought with it a spark of fiery energy. My tongue almost instinctively twisted around hers and I shuddered as the pleasure of it all filled me up inside.

I should stop. But...

I loved this. Every second of this. She was like the best candy ever and I wanted to taste it all, every last bit. With every rapid beat of my heart I felt warmer, this strangely unfamiliar twisting pressure burning at my core, begging for more.

I can't stop.

Unngh, this isn't fair! How can she make me feel so helplessly out of control so easily. I gripped her shoulders and fought back, giving her a taste of her own medicine with my own mouth exploring hers. But I'm still not sure who was in control now. Maybe we were both just locked together in free fall. I never knew this could feel so...

But she pulled away, leaving both of us nearly breathless. I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself, but it was so hard. All I wanted to do was go back to that wonderful place…

"Sora, um...I'm sorry for stopping, but..." She giggled softly into her hand. "You were making a bit too much noise."

"Wha...I was?" I didn't remember saying anything. I certainly was _thinking_ things. Unless somehow she was reading my thoughts. But I already know she definitely can't do that, right? None of my tests ever worked before, but then she says stuff like that and makes me second guess it again.

She bit her lower lip, trying not to smile too brightly at me and I had to really fight myself to stay composed. "Yeah, you were being a bit...vocal."

"Wh...what did I say?" I was dreading the answer but I honestly couldn't remember, I was just so caught up in everything.

Her face reddened. "Y-you didn't exactly _say_ anything. It was more that you were, um...making really...happy sounds."

Oh. I stared down at my shoes, feeling hotter than ever in my face. She pinched my cheek lightly, I guess to try and make me feel better, but it didn't really stop the embarrassment at all.

"Aw...it's okay. It was cute."

Did she just call me cute? That's...a good thing, right? I furrowed my brow and glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. "Cute like a baby animal or cute like-"

"Cute like a Sora is."

Well that doesn't help! I sighed and played with the ends of her hair, pinching it between my fingers and letting it slip out again. She smiled up at me and I returned it.

"At least you're feeling better."

She nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. "There isn't really much I can do about it besides apologize and not hold her anger against her."

"Maybe I'll say something to her once she's had time to cool off."

Kairi pursed her lips at me. "I'm not so sure about that...I don't want you getting slapped, too."

Remembering that, I reached out to give her cheek another kiss to make it feel better. Her eyes focused on something behind me and she stumbled backwards.

"There you two are."

I heard Riku's voice and immediately jumped away from her, tripping myself in the process. I nearly fell backwards down the stairs, but he gave me a shove to steady me as he walked up from behind.

"H-hey..." I stammered, hoping he hadn't seen anything. Or worse, _heard_.

"Something wrong? You said you'd be done around five and it's past five thirty already."

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Mr. Bodyguard strikes again."

"No. Just bored." He gestured over towards me. "How'd he do?"

I crossed my arms. "I didn't get to finish."

He raised an eyebrow at me, obviously understanding there was an untold story here.

Kairi tried to hide her disappointment. Clearly this wasn't what she was hoping for today. "We should hurry back to clean up. Riku, I can explain a bit later, okay?"

He shrugged and followed us back to the room. The minute the three of us entered the classroom, the gossiping chatter inside abruptly halted. One girl made an oohing sound and the rest broke into giggles.

They chattered among themselves while the three of us cleaned up Kairi's work station and gathered up our bags. I was a bit sad that I hadn't gotten to finish, but I resolved to come back another time. I gave a quick head nod back at the club and offered a quick thanks for letting me join in but they basically ignored me. No wonder Kairi doesn't come to this club very often. She goes because she enjoys the hobby, but I don't think she likes the social circles too much.

"Hey, Kairi! Sure you weren't off kissing Riku?"

She huffed and ignored the comment, pushing us towards the exit. Just before Kairi made it out the door, the curly haired girl came running over.

"Wait, before you go, what was up with Phi? Was it...boy trouble?" She fluttered her eyes in Riku's direction and he turned his head away.

Kairi glanced a few times between the girl, me and Riku before taking a deep breath. "Yes, actually. It was."

"What!?" She clutched at her hair and all of the girls in the room flooded over towards the sliding door.

Kairi gripped the handle of the door and shooed us out of the way so she could get through.

"Wait, but you need to tell us more!" I'm pretty sure that was Mei.

I saw Kairi glance back at me, and she smiled that sweet yet devilish smile she had when she was plotting something. "Alright, then, I'll just say this."

They leaned in eagerly and she cleared her throat.

"She's mad because I'm dating Sora now. Bye!"

She practically slammed the door shut and spun around on her heel, dragging both me and Riku away with her by our arms. "Let's go, you two."

After we made it a few steps down the hall I saw the girls in the club finally manage to yank the door back open and they were gathered together, staring wide-eyed at us. I gave them a cheesy grin and waved.

"Thanks again for letting me join today!"

Mei waved back blankly. Until we turned the corner, I could see their curly haired ringleader stammering in silence. Riku chuckled a bit and stuffed his hand into his pocket.

"You realize this means the whole school is going to know before the end of lunch tomorrow, right?"

It was a little impressive how fast rumors spread. Kairi released our arms and marched off quickly on her own.

"I don't care! I wanted to keep everything private but no one was going to leave it alone no matter what I said. Besides, now people won't keep putting Sora down right in front of his face."

I laughed weakly, catching up to her. "Hey, it wasn't that bad."

Riku yawned. "Well I'm glad you did. Now hopefully people will stop bugging me about you." He gave me a weak punch in the shoulder. "Just don't let it get to your head, Sora. Last thing you need is an over-inflated ego."

I pulled a face at him and kept walking. I guess this means Kairi and I are going to have to discuss our rules again to figure out what has changed, if anything. Hopefully it means I can at least hold her hand now and again. As much as I'd like open kissing permission, today was probably a bit of a fluke...

"So, you mind explaining to me what actually happened with this Phi person?" Riku finally decided to ask.

As we made our way out of the school, Kairi did her best to summarize, leaving out the whole...making out part. _Oddly_ enough that was pretty much all I was thinking about. At least Riku seemed to agree that Kairi leaving the matter with Ophelia alone would be the best thing to do moving forward.

Once we got to the last split in the road before Kairi had to head off in a different direction, we all paused. I could tell she wanted to say something to me, but she kept glancing over at Riku and changing her mind.

He stretched and slumped his arm over my shoulder. "So, I figure since the two of you are probably going to be getting a bit harassed at school tomorrow we should maybe head out of town this weekend. Besides, you haven't even updated Roxas yet about you two, have you?"

I shook my head. "No, but there's no way he hasn't figured it out and told everybody already..."

Kairi gave me a look and I shrank a bit. "Oh come on, Sora. I've already told Namine, Xion _and_ Aqua. I figured you'd at _least_ get around to letting Roxas of all people know yourself."

"Well I _tried_ to. It's just...weirdly hard to put into words. I'm not good with letters anyway, and I wanted to wait to see him in person is all."

"Great so it's settled?" Riku took his weight off of me, finally. He's annoyingly heavy.

Kairi nodded and bounced over to me, ruffling my hair. "You'll have no excuses, then."

She turned to say goodbye, but I quickly dodged my way past Riku and caught her at the wrist. She stalled, turning back towards me. I wanted to tell her to stay a bit longer, but I couldn't really come up with an excuse for it. More than that, I wanted to tell her how I felt about what happened between us today. To apologize for overstepping the line she drew out for me. I felt super guilty now. She didn't say anything about it, but I'm sure she isn't too happy about it. The problem was, of course, Riku was standing _right there_. I wasn't exactly comfortable discussing that sort of thing in front of him, so...I just stood there saying nothing like a weirdo.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She prompted towards me, gently.

"Y-yeah...um..." I let go of her arm, but she didn't pull away from me.

"If this is about earlier…?" She started, but hesitated. I could only nod a little at her. "If you're feeling guilty, don't. Both times it was me."

"But..."

She giggled and gave my hand a very quick squeeze. "I'm not upset. We can sort things out later, okay?"

I agreed, but still felt a bit unsettled. Maybe her mom was right and I was just a crazy out of control boy who needed reining in. I snapped back to reality in time to call out goodnight to her before rejoining Riku on the walk towards our houses. I kicked at some pebbles on the road in frustration and he strolled silently next to me. I knew he was going to ask. And he knew I knew. So there was no point in waiting for him.

"I..."

"You kissed her at school, didn't you."

I kicked the rocks again and grumbled. "Not exactly."

"Oh, sorry, she said _she_ kissed _you_. Same thing, really. I'm still not seeing what the problem is."

"I said I wouldn't! It was one of the rules! The first one, even! I should have had more control over myself and just-"

"What were the rules again?"

"Um...rule one was no affection in public until she's comfortable with it, rule two is...uh..." I glanced at him. "...related to that. Rule three...I, uh can't tell you that one, either. The fourth rule...well...that one kind of doesn't exist anymore. And the last rule is...too embarrassing to talk about."

"Right...so based off of that _wealth_ of information you just gave me, I still don't see what the problem is."

"The first one! That's the problem!"

"Sora, obviously if she kissed _you_ she was comfortable enough, don't you think?"

Well sure, I guess...maybe. But I'm not entirely sure he understands. He wasn't there for that conversation with her mom…

He put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a tap so I would look up at him. "Look, I'm not claiming to know everything that goes on in a girl's head, but you are her first boyfriend. I think the spirit of her rule is basically that she wants to take things slow and that makes a lot of sense. She doesn't want to rush and mess anything up. I respect you a lot for taking her rules so seriously, but...relax."

That is so much easier said than done. "It still feels like I did something wrong..."

"Kairi is a reasonable person; you know that. She's not going to blow up at you over semantics. Just keep doing what you think is right, and check with her at the time if you are worried."

"Yeah...I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does. Now, I can't say much about the second and third rule but since I figure they have to do with me I'll just let that go for now. I'll find some way to tease you about that last one eventually, too."

Ugh, sometimes I really hate that I can't keep any secrets from him.

"I do want to make one thing very clear, though. I honestly don't mind you two being affectionate with each other. Within reason, obviously. If you two wanted to hold hands or kiss or something don't feel like you can't on my behalf."

"But, um..." I paused, not really sure how to respond. How does he always figure out these things? Maybe it was just a lucky guess.

"It's going to be way more awkward if you two don't. You'll both just be standing there staring at each other, waiting for me to turn away or leave and then constantly jumping apart once I come back. Like today? You almost knocked yourself down the stairs. I would much, much prefer you two to relax and act a bit more naturally."

"...that wouldn't bother you?"

"What would bother me is if you two had a full out heavy petting sessio-"

"What the heck, Riku! Don't say things like that!" I smacked him in the arm and grumbled. "We wouldn't do something like that."

"Ever? Or just in front of me?"

W-what kind of s-stupid question...

He laughed at me again. "You are way too easy to rile up. Good thing it never gets old." He walked a few steps and noticed I was hanging back.

"What? Are you still convinced that me seeing you two show the slightest affection for each other is going to make me spontaneously combust?"

"I-I don't know..."

Before I could react he dropped his bag to the ground and clobbered me, pulling me back and forth while he pushed his fist into my head.

"How many times do I have to say this before it gets through that thick skull of yours?"

"Okay! Okay!" He still refused to release me.

"I'm not letting go until you promise me you'll at least hold her hand tomorrow walking to school."

"But-"

"At the very _least_. Come on."

"I can't—ow!" He yanked my arm, pinning it against my back.

"You'd better promise me. I can keep this up all night if I have to."

"I said okay, already!"

He hoisted me up a bit higher so I my feet were only barely on the ground, effectively trapping me in his grip. "Okay, _what_? Say it."

"I..." He really wasn't going to let go, was he? I sighed and gave up fighting it. He still had one of my arms locked behind me, the other wedged uncomfortably over his. "I promise. I'll do my best, okay?"

Nope, he still wasn't letting me go. He twisted my wrist a bit further and I winced. "Ow! That hurts!"

"Sora, I'm not kidding!"

"Okay! I-I'll hold her hand tomorrow." Another half twist on my wrist. "I _promise_."

"You'd better."

He unceremoniously dropped me to the ground and I stumbled a few steps, whirling back to face him. "Is it really a promise if you force it out of me!?"

Shrugging, he grabbed his bag back up off the ground and dusted it. "You wouldn't have said it if you didn't intend to try."

"I hate it when you do that..." I snatched my own bag up off the ground and stomped away from him.

"You're the one who refused to take the hint after the, what, seven or so times I already told you before."

"Well you...you're..." I gave an exasperated sigh and kept walking. "I'm just trying to do the right thing and you're acting like I don't listen to you or something."

"I'm not mad that you're thinking about me. Quite the opposite. I'm just trying to save you a ton of future headaches by making things as simple and transparent as possible. You're so easy going about pretty much everything, except her. And that's when you overthink things so much it hurts. The last thing you need is to be worrying about me at the same time."

"I'm sorry..." I halted. "Wait, why am I apologizing to you?"

"Because I might have been a little rough now, but it's going to save you pain down the road. So, actually, I just did you a favor. That's why."

"I hate that you're right all the time..."

He laughed and gave me a much more gentle knock on the head. "Not all the time. But enough to help you out, at least."

It still sorta hurt, but I couldn't help smiling at him a little. "Thanks, but I still argue I didn't really do anything wrong. I think I'm owed a little something for that treatment."

He narrowed his eyes coldly at me. "Oh? And what would that be?"

"I'll let you know when I think of it."

"This is against all my better judgment to give you an open slate, but fine; just as long as I still have some form of veto power."

"Yes!" I cheered and pumped my fist a little. I loved it when Riku owed me favors; it was the best. I noticed his uneasy face and couldn't help laughing again. "Hey, now it's your turn to relax. What's the worst I could ask for?"

"I'd rather not consider that..."

Darn, I was sort of hoping I could trap him into answering and hang that over his head. Oh well, maybe I'll get some ideas tonight. We got closer to the gate of my house and I slowed, feeling like I wasn't quite ready to call it a day. I still had a lot of stuff I wanted to talk about.

"You gonna come over after dinner?" I asked hopefully.

He considered this for a minute. "Sure, why not?"

I cheered again and he started off towards his house, tipping his hand briefly in my direction as a quick parting wave.

I called out after him, smiling."I really am glad you're looking out for me all the time. I guess I need it."

He turned back to me, shaking his head, looking quite genuinely happy. "It's definitely mutual."

"Aw..." I gave him a teasing grin before he looked away. "Are you saying you need me?"

I think I saw his eyebrow twitching a little. "You doofus..."

That's a new one. I can tell he's in a good mood when he calls me something stupid. As happy as I am now, I'm still kind of dreading school tomorrow, though. I have a feeling it's going to be a long afternoon...


	17. Riku: Fan Service

"Ugh, today has been way, _way_ too long." Sora dropped himself face first into the clubhouse's entryway couch.

Kairi leaned over and gave him a gentle pat on the head. Obviously going through the gauntlet of having their relationship now essentially being out in the open had been particularly draining on him. Not that I blame him, especially with how Olette reacted. I saw Lea, Xion and Namine coming straight for us from the top of the staircase and glanced back over at Sora apologetically. Not over yet.

"Yo! I'll believe it the minute I see a kiss in person."

Sora groaned and sat up off the couch. "Lea, not you too!"

"-Too?" Lea eyed me curious but I just shrugged. Not my fault he missed the fiasco at the station.

Roxas finally made it back, dropping down his earlier promised bag of sweets on the table. "Yeah, you missed it already. Olette basically forced him to give her a big smooch in front of everyone at the train station."

Lea burst out laughing, clutching at his stomach. "Wait, did he actually do it then?"

"Yeah, after stalling for a good five minutes. But then once he did, it was obvious he didn't want to stop. I had to yank them apart." Roxas prodded the bag of candy on the table, the rustling drawing up Sora's attention. "Also had to promise to bring him some candy to make up for the whole thing."

"Aww..." Xion cooed a little and Sora flopped back down, burying his face into the pillows with another groan.

Lea gave Kairi a friendly nudge on the shoulder. "Ah, well. Next time then. Don't want to overload the poor guy, since showing his girlfriend some affection is apparently such a momentous task."

Kairi giggled into her hand. "Don't be mean. He's been getting picked on all day."

Trying his best to look offended, Lea took half a step back. "Me, mean? Never. But you're right that maybe he deserves a break from the teasing. And that only leaves you..."

She shrank back a bit in panic and Lea leaned closer across the gap between them. "So, Kairi...I bet he can't keep his hands off you in private, hmm?"

Her face flushed but she stood her ground, putting her hands on her hips. "I'll have you know he's been perfectly sweet."

"Oh, has he? Maybe it's you who is the grabby one."

Kairi gave him a sour face and Lea burst into laughter again. Sora mumbled something into the pillows which I'm fairly sure was something along the lines of 'why don't you mess with Riku instead?'

Roxas was finally starting to look a little guilty and he gave Kairi an apologetic nod. "Sorry you two, I think everyone's just pretty excited about the whole thing."

"Makes sense, we were all waiting forever for him to work up the nerve to say something." I tried to rouse my friend up by the shoulder but he swatted at my arm, mumbling something else muffled into the pillows.

Roxas laughed and also tried his luck at getting Sora to sit back up, unsuccessfully. "Listen, all of us were going to go head out to the movie theater. Did you want to come too?"

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know about those two, but I'm just about ready to change into my pajamas and relax finally."

Sora lazily pulled himself up and whacked Roxas with one of the pillows next to him. "Yeah, today's been kinda crazy. Especially thanks to you."

Roxas punched the pillow away and grinned back. "Oh, you're welcome."

"Before we go..." Namine hastily pulled Kairi into a circle with her and Xion and the three started whispering and giggling among themselves. Xion offered up some sort of question, which Kairi seemed to ponder for a moment before giving her answer, the only part of which I could understand was something about marshmallows. For some reason this sent them all into another giggle fit.

Sora was slowly tipping his head side to side, obviously just as confused. My only comfort is I doubt it has anything to do with me.

Lea shrugged and gave Sora a shoulder pat. "Well, congratulations anyway." He prodded me next. "You make sure they stay out of trouble."

"Naturally."

All of them gave a quick parting farewell before heading out across town. I joined Sora on the couch and jostled him with my elbow.

"Well, you officially made it through today at least."

Sora gave an exhausted cheer and slumped over on me. Kairi giggled and bent over to give him a hesitantly quick peck on his forehead. I definitely noticed the way her eyes flicked up to see if I was looking, first. She must still be a bit anxious about it.

"While you take a minute to relax, I'm going to go get changed." She turned her eyes to me, pointing down to the lump crashed against my side. "Then, maybe we can convince him to play a few games with us to get him back in the spirit."

I felt him immediately perk up. "You'll play, too, Kairi?"

"Of course."

He definitely looked excited now. Him and his unpredictable moods...

"I guess he's more spirited than we thought already. Sora, you mind going into the kitchen to make a snack or something? I'll get the system set up."

He agreed and bounced off while Kairi and I momentarily lingered in the lounge area.

"Riku, about today..."

I held up a hand to stop her and got up off the couch. "Nothing needs to be said. I've never been better."

She gave me a really bright smile and unexpectedly squeezed her arms around me. "Thank you."

I sighed and waited for her to finish. "It's fine. Besides, you have more important things to worry about tonight."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"When I play games seriously, I play to win. No handicaps, no going easy. You'd better be ready."

She scoffed jokingly. "Oh? Maybe you're the one who shouldn't be underestimating _me_. We both know Sora isn't going to target me so you'll have us both to contend with."

I'll look forward to that challenge.

* * *

"You two better not stay up too late!" She ordered, half asleep before slipping away into the girls' room alone.

I saw the way he was looking at her as she disappeared through the door, almost like he would have given up anything in the world to follow her. I bumped his arm and started leading him back down the stairs. Maybe I needed to start worrying about keeping a closer eye on these two sooner than I had anticipated.

He was stumbling around, almost in a daze, and he flopped down straight onto the floor without waiting to pull the futons out. I kicked at him, forcing him to at least help me a bit get things ready. The minute the beds were laid out, he dropped down on it with a huff.

"I wish she didn't have to go sleep so far away upstairs..."

I scoffed and smacked him with a pillow. "Bad idea. If she was down here with us, you wouldn't get a single wink of sleep."

"Why's that?"

I deadpanned at him. Seriously? "Just think about it for a minute."

I saw him glance up, contemplating it. After a moment, his face started to flush and he swallowed hard. "R-right..."

"Exactly. She'd be sleeping peacefully, snuggled next to you, and you'd be lying there having a panic attack for hours."

He moaned rather morosely. "Does this mean we can't go on camping trips ever again?"

"Just give it some time. I'm sure after a few weeks things will settle back down between you two when you relearn how to get comfortable around each other."

He opened his mouth to complain but I interrupted him right away.

"I mean comfortable in a physical way. Right now she just brushes against your arm and you can barely stand it."

"...and you think that will take a few weeks to get used to?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I suppose it's different for everyone."

"Well, I guess I'll be okay waiting." He rolled over, stuffing his face into the pillow with a sigh.

"Sure, but then you have the _other_ problem to deal with."

He peeked up at me from out of the pillow in confusion.

"After you get comfortable with each other, you start...what do they call it, the 'experimentation phase'."

"That sounds scary." He rolled back around onto his back, squishing the pillow into his face and groaned. "Why is this stuff always so complicated..."

I chuckled. "It might sound scary but I have a feeling you're going to _really_ like that phase. Unfortunately I'd prefer not to sit there and be witness to you two in the midst of it trying to surreptitiously...participate."

"Serepetita…uh…?"

"Basically, I think we're going to want to invest in at least a second tent."

"Oh. And that would fix the problem?"

I laughed a little to myself. I don't think Sora really got what I was hinting at. Too bad, I wanted to tease him about it a little. Maybe something will click in his head in a few weeks, though.

"Most likely."

"Great!" He grinned and snuggled down into his blankets.

I wish I could take a vacation in his head some day. Ignorance is bliss, right?

"Hey Riku, I have an idea about something I wanna do this weekend."

"And that is…?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow." He laughed and I felt a creeping suspicion.

Something tells me I'm not going to enjoy this...

* * *

I'm still not sure how Sora roped me into coming here. Oh, right, that favor I stupidly allowed him to have. My only consolation at least is that Roxas ended up not being able to come. If I had to deal with the both of them in this place...

"Whoa!" Sora's eyes widened in awe at the interior of the store. "Riku, you have to come and see this!"

I rolled my eyes and remained steadfastly just outside the door frame. "I'd really rather not..."

"Oh, relax. I'm sure you'll find _something_ interesting." Kairi yanked on my arm, forcing me through.

"You'd better remember your promise." I gave Sora a warning glare and he lifted his hands defensively.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. No buying any Riku exclusive merchandise." He excitedly ran over to a board on the wall and grabbed some sort of magnet off the front of it, brandishing it to me. "But what about something like this!? This would be okay, right?"

It was a drawing of the two of us standing back-to-back, weapons drawn. I'll admit the image wasn't _too_ uncool.

"Fine, if it's something with both of us I'll possibly make an exception. For example, something like that would be-"

Before I could even finish he was already buzzing around a different display, fawning over a few of the items. He was having an absolute field day. I gave a quick glance about the store, noting we were luckily the only patrons at the moment. The only other person was, I assume, the shopkeeper, standing frozen with a dazed look on his face behind a desk plastered with advertisements for some magazine subscription. Oh right, I recognize him now. That was the guy that kept pestering us for interviews and other nonsense after everything. _Really_ frustrating, that guy. Kairi gave him a cheerful wave and the man trembled visibly before bolting behind a thick curtain to some dark back room.

Good riddance. Not what I wanted to deal with today. I wordlessly volunteered to babysit Sora at the moment to make sure he doesn't break anything so Kairi could wander off alone along some of the bookshelves in the back.

Sora found a shelf of assorted bags and a few clothing items and pulled out something that looked similar to my old blindfold. How the heck did this guy know about something like that, anyway? Was he asking for information about us from everyone we ever met?

Sora giddily tied it around his forehead over his eyes and jumped towards me, lifting a prop Keyblade up next to his head and extending his other hand out towards me. Obviously he was doing his best to mock my battle stance.

"Guess who I am!"

"An idiot." I swatted his arm away.

He pulled the blindfold up off one eye and grinned at me. "Aw, that's not nice Riku, calling yourself an idiot."

I bopped him on the head lightly and he took the rest of the blindfold off, returning it to the shelf. Before he could find anything else to try on, we heard Kairi cry out a little in sudden shock.

The two of us quickly darted around the tall shelf to find her standing, white-faced in a section for small postcards and photos. She was holding something in her hands, eyes wide, absolutely transfixed by the image printed on it.

Sora bounced closer to her, curious. "What is it?"

She shoved the picture against her body and stepped away from him, shaking her head rapidly. "N-no, this is...I-I'm not sure you should..." She was biting down on her lip, trying her hardest not to break out into laughter.

"Is it a funny picture of me? Or Riku?...you?"

She couldn't contain it anymore and shook her head, bursting out into laughter, her face still a strange mixture of amusement and shock. "No, no it's a...drawing. It's just...it's a bit..."

Before Sora could snatch it away from her, she stuffed it back into a massive stack randomly in the middle so it would be difficult to find.

He groaned in disappointment. "Hey, I wanted to see it!"

"I really don't think you should." She glanced over at me, and another wave of giggles overcame her.

I sighed. "It has to do with me, doesn't it?"

I had a vague guess it was something mildly inappropriate if a simple drawing someone had dreamed up could make her react that way.

"Well..." She hummed, clearly on the fence about if she should tell us or not.

I sighed. What the hell, let's figure out how bad this thing was. I spotted the place in the deck of cards where it was slightly uneven and shifted them to the side to withdraw the one she had stuffed hastily inside. She gasped and tried to stop me, but I had already flipped the image over before she could pull it away.

It was _much_ worse than I had imagined.

"Is that..." Sora stared at the image and blinked. Several times.

Kairi was trying her hardest to choke her laughter back, tears forming in her eyes. "It's you and Riku, um...having fun."

He blanched and yelped loudly, stumbling backwards so quickly he almost knocked over the display behind him. Kairi burst into unrestrained laughter while I just tried my best to keep staring at the floor.

Sora's voice almost squeaked. "Wh-why would anyone…?"

She stuffed the picture back into the stack where she found it. "I don't know, but it's _really_ funny."

He seemed about to protest, but now that the shock was starting to wear off I could see he was starting to find some humor in it as well. Good for them, because I certainly wasn't amused. It didn't take long before the two of them were searching for mor- oh, _great_. There's a whole _set_.

They started fawning and laughing over the most ridiculous ones and having a wonderful time of it.

I glanced at the backroom curtain and saw the shopkeeper peeking meekly out at us through a small gap. His eyes briefly locked with mine and I heard him give a little shriek, disappearing back into the darkness behind it.

The laughter behind me suddenly cut short and I decided to see what ridiculous thing they had found now. It was another semi erotic drawing of me, half naked on a horse. Because that makes sense.

I hate this store.

Kairi jabbed me with her elbow. "Nice glamour shot."

"As if I would ever..." I flicked my eyes upwards just to get them away from that awful picture and noticed a very small label half obscured by some drooping posters. I cleared my throat a bit to catch their attention and pointed it out.

Sora read it out loud slowly. "Ero...fan...art? What's that mean?"

"It means basically everything in this section is going to be...questionable." I felt a smile creep onto my features when I noticed an even smaller label on the second shelf. "...and it looks like its sorted by pairings."

I tapped our names on the board, separated by a small x and checked for their reactions. It now seemed like Kairi was the one getting a bit nervous while Sora seemed like he was a mixed of curious and horrified. Kairi stepped forward and checked through all the labels and their corresponding shelves, frowning more and more deeply.

"The...overall content of these seems to be a bit oddly balanced..." She sighed, glancing over to me.

Definitely was. About two thirds or more of the entire rack was dedicated to Sora and I exclusively, most of it rather...explicit. Half of the other material was attempting the same between Roxas and Lea. Hopefully those two don't come here and see this stuff. I doubt Roxas would be in as good of a mood as Sora is about it. Or...maybe that was why Roxas suspiciously didn't want to come today.

Sora hummed over the labels. "Now that you mention it...why don't you have a section, Kairi? There's one over there for Aqua...but she's the only girl I see with her own."

Kairi pulled a sour face and smacked him in the arm. "What, are you disappointed by that?"

"Well, ye-" He saw me furiously shaking my head at him and cleared his throat abruptly. "N-no."

She rolled her eyes at the two of us. "Yeah, okay. I'm just going to assume it's because you wanted to make fun of it, not because you're both voyeuristic."

Sora furrowed his brow. "A what stick?"

She laughed at this, folding shut a huge album of Sora and I in fairly compromising positions that was lying open on the table in front of us. "I'm just teasing you. I feel bad that the two of you are bearing the brunt of this but at the same time I am a little relieved it isn't me."

Thanks. Your support is overwhelming.

She patted me a little on the arm. "Anyway, I think I've had about as much of these pictures as I can handle in one day. You two have fun. I'm going to go check out those cute stuffed animals over there."

Sora nodded and fished around one of the shelves dedicated to the two of us, still getting a kick out of some of the more bizarre ones.

"Why do you think people keep drawing us like this? It's...kinda confusing and a little bit weird. What the-ugh!" He grabbed up a particularly mature one and fumbled it in shock.

"Sora, that's just how people are: confusing and a little bit weird."

"Not always..." He withdrew a particularly infuriating one of me being an absolute lecherous creep and he laughed at the shock of it. "Hey, you know, you _did_ give me permission to buy something if it had both of us on it..."

I could tell he was trying to tease me but I wasn't having it. "I didn't give you full permission: I said you _possibly_ could." I pulled out one drawing in particular I thought would interest him.

"Here's the deal, if you get anything like _that_ , then I get to buy _this,_ and leave it somewhere, say, your desk, for Kairi to conveniently discover, then I will fervently deny ever seeing it before."

It was another fan drawn image, from a section marked "the ladies", of both Kairi and Namine in particularly revealing and frilly undergarments, grabbing at each other. I waved the picture in front of him and he gasped loudly, his eyes absolutely glued to it. I could tell he was a little insulted by it, but by the fact that he couldn't take his eyes off despite his obvious attempts to, he was probably also enjoying it a little.

I decided to tease him a bit more with it. "Want it? There's a bunch of others like it, too..."

He huffed at me and yanked the picture out of my hands, shoving it back into the shelf. "That barely even looks like her, they made her chest way too big."

I burst out laughing. "Oh? I guess you studied hers pretty closely?"

"N-no!"

"Oh okay, I get it. Because you don't check out your own girlfriend, right? Poor Kairi."

"What? I..." He looked absolutely dumbfounded about how to answer for a moment before glaring at me. "I can't _wait_ until you get your own girlfriend. I'm going to get revenge on you so bad for all this eventually..."

"Well, I _do_ have a date this week."

"What!? With who?"

"Not telling." Sure, calling it a date might be a bit misleading, but he doesn't have to know that.

"Are you serious? You aren't...right?" I could see him studying me as closely as he could, trying to find any tell on my face that I was joking.

"Very serious."

"You have to tell me who!"

I snickered a little to myself. He's being nosy and I don't want to talk. Time to mess with him.

I put my hand on his shoulder and pushed him towards the wall, closing the distance between us. He stumbled, his back thumping against the wall.

"Ow! Riku, what are you-"

I pressed closer to him, looming right over his face. "You really haven't figured it out? The person who I want to date?"

He blinked up, absolutely dumbfounded, his grip around my arm loosening. "No? W-what are you tal-"

"Sora, I was hoping one day you would be able to see the truth about how I feel. But I just can't wait any more. It's unbearable, hiding how I feel."

He just started stuttering, his face turning bright red. I leaned in closer and he obviously panicked, pushing feebly against me.

"R-Riku st-stop joking around!"

"I already told you, I'm _very_ serious about this."

He just sat there, mouth silently flapping as he struggled to respond, his arms shaking. "I...but I...but Kairi..."

"Saying I liked Kairi was all just a cover because I was too insecure to admit to myself how I really felt about _you_..."

"Riku, s-stop, I can't..." His eyes were just drenched in fear, panic and sadness.

Alright, definitely time to end this. I can't keep a straight face anymore.

"Seeing those pictures stirred something in me. I have to confess my absolute _passionate undying_ _desire_."

My over the top emphasis finally clued him and he abruptly deadpanned, scowling a little, shoving me forcefully off of him.

"...are you finished yet?"

I laughed and bonked him on the head. "That's what you get for pestering me about my love life. Though I'm glad to know if I did have a crush on you, you would have handled it with absolute masterful grace and tact."

"You're a jerk." He grumbled at me and stomped off, probably go to find Kairi. Shortly after he disappeared around the corner, I heard Kairi gasp.

"A what!?" She came storming back around to where I was, her face glowing. "Riku! You're going on a date? Why didn't you say anything earlier!?"

Of course he sends in Kairi in to try and squeeze something out of me. "It's nothing serious."

She folded her arms and pursed her lips at me. "Okay…I'll let you keep it your little secret for now and I won't pry, but you'd better tell me how it goes afterwards. Deal?"

Her eyes made it very clear that if I refused to agree she was definitely going to be sneaking after me like a little spy. "Deal."

Sora pouted a bit, obviously hoping he would get more information out of me than that. I then noticed that she was cuddling some sort of black stuffed plushy animal under her arm. I pointed to it. "By the way, what's that?"

She giggled and held it aloft for me to see. It was...a shadow? With a few exaggerated features in an attempt to make it look more harmless or cute.

"Isn't it adorable!? It reminds me of Sora when he was a little Heartless." She cuddled it again and I saw Sora sigh heavily behind her.

"Are you getting that? It's not exactly the best thing to memorialize, is it?" I questioned her, probably the exact thing Sora had on his mind but was too insecure to ask himself.

She waved the accusation off lightly. "Well, as scary as it was then, now it just reminds me about how sweet he is."

"Uh huh..."

Sora was looking really embarrassed now. He tried to avert his eyes but ended up turning straight into a poster of an artist rendering of Aqua posing seductively in a swimsuit, panicked, and stumbled into Kairi's back.

She turned around and gave Sora a little wave, using the shadows arm. He gave it a light pat on the head and smiled shakily. "Just...don't stick it in a dark corner."

I scoffed at him. "What, are you going to attack a stuffed animal?"

"I dunno...might just react without thinking about it." He laughed and flicked one of the little shadows' antennae. "This guy is a lot cuter than real ones, though."

"Exactly!" Kairi seemed pretty bubbly now. "I'll make sure to not put him anywhere unexpected...too often."

She lifted up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Just as she did so there was the unmistakable snap of a camera and I spun around to see the shopkeeper standing there, eyes opened wide in awe, waiting for his picture to spit out the front of one of those older style instant printing cameras. I snatched it out of the camera before him and saw it was definitely a photo of my friends.

...It was actually a good picture, despite being a serious breach of privacy.

I glared at the shopkeeper who was shrinking back a bit. "Who, exactly, gave you permission to take pictures of us?"

"W-well...I just...they were...I-I'm such a big fan and..." His stuttering continued unintelligibly.

Kairi glanced around my arm at the photo and hummed. "That's a nice picture..." She turned her eyes up to the shopkeeper. "You run this store, right?"

He nodded uneasily.

"It must have taken you a long time to gather all of this stuff up in one place."

It looked like he started to relax a bit and I considered snatching his camera away, too. "Y-yeah...it was a real labor of love, as they say…"

"It's quite a high compliment, in a way, isn't it?" Kairi jabbed at me with her arm and I just grunted a little.

Sora took the picture out of my hand and smiled at it for a minute before looking over to the shopkeeper. "Yeah, this place is really cool. Riku doesn't like having his picture taken, but I wouldn't mind letting you get a photo or two of us." He pointed to him and Kairi together. "It's the least we could do. Right?"

Kairi nodded in agreement. This seemed to really make the shopkeepers day and he practically danced back and forth.

"Really!? Oh, oh, this is..."

"Just please ask permission before you take someone's picture next time, okay?" Kairi scolded him a little and he nodded, listening eagerly. At least she knew how to take care of rowdy fans.

Sora handed the picture he had taken earlier back to the man who hastily gestured for the two of them to follow him over to a more open part of the store. "Okay, okay, okay, could you stand here, please?"

"Sure, did you want to be in one with us, or..."

The man eagerly lifted up his camera and snapped a picture before Sora could even finish talking. A bit shocked, Sora blinked to adjust his eyes, laughed and tried to speak again. But the man continued undaunted, photo after photo. Kairi shrugged and snuggled up against Sora's arm. I saw him shift uncomfortably, clearly not used to having photos taken with her clinging to him. Sorry buddy, but you're the one who volunteered.

I gave him a sarcastic wave. "While you two enjoy your little session I'm going to go wait outside."

The shopkeeper abruptly turned and almost snapped my picture, but I diverted the camera to the left in time so he ended up just getting a nice shot of his own store wall.

"Wait! Before you go! Could I at least get an autograph?"

I knew I didn't like this guy. "...Fine."

He shifted anxiously as I signed the paper with the flimsy pencil he handed me. "A-and maybe a photo of you and Sora kissing as a couple?"

The pencil snapped in my fist.

"...What did you say?" I threatened him so sharply with my eyes he visibly gulped and scuttled away from me.

"W-well back there, y-you were...that's why I ran for my camera..."

I smacked my face in frustration. Lovely, this pest almost got the most blackmail worthy photo on record. That was incredibly careless of me.

"That. Was. A. Joke." I enunciated clearly so he couldn't possibly misunderstand me.

Sora was looking horrified while Kairi was just standing next to him impatiently waiting for an explanation.

"I understand if it sells in your shop as a silly fantasy for people to indulge in, but in the real world there is a pretty big difference between friends and lovers, wouldn't you agree?"

The man stared down at his camera and fiddled with it, nodding.

"Great. Glad we could clear that up." I guess that shop owner isn't too familiar with sarcasm.

Kairi coughed a bit into her stuffed animal, looking suspiciously devious. "I bet he makes a ton of money on those types of pictures, though. Maybe you two should pose for one _slightly_ ambiguously suggestive photo and really rake it it."

"Kairi!" Sora's suddenly indignant face made me smile, despite the circumstances.

"I'm just kidding!"

I turned and headed for the exit, giving Sora a warning glance. "You'd better remember your promise, too. No weird souvenirs."

It felt a good finally getting out of that place.

I waited around a bit by the fountain outside, watching the people passing by. Some threw some munny into it, most just hurried off to their destinations without a second glance. I enjoyed watching the ripples of the water as they spread out across the surface. There was something calming about watching it flow.

After a while, I felt the two of them approaching me and I turned to give them a sarcastic wave.

"How was the photo session?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "He hammed it up a bit again.

Figures. I indicated for them to join me sitting on the edge of the fountain. Sora stared out at the water for a moment before taking a seat.

"I was thinking about something, though..."

I sighed. His tone concerned me. "Uh oh. About what?"

Sora jumped up onto the wall of the fountain and bounced his knees up and down a bit in agitation. "Well...I mean, it's one thing to laugh at how crazy it would be for you and I to get together, but thinking back on it-"

Kairi started furiously twiddling her hair. "Um, S-Sora, where are you going with this…?"

He quickly threw his hands up, waving them in front of himself. "N-no, it's not like that! I just...when Riku was joking about liking me, I was mostly panicking, but part of me felt, well...that it made sense."

"Uh, _excuse me_?" I glared back at him.

"Riku, it's not...ugh, how do I explain this? You're my best friend. I trust you more than I trust myself about stuff. Isn't that...isn't that the sort of thing people try to find in a romantic partner? Someone they can trust completely? I mean...isn't that kind of like loving someone?"

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I think I basically understand what he's getting at. He's just wording it like a clumsy idiot.

He desperately tried to salvage it and dissipate the awkwardness. "I'm not saying I want to date you! I'm just wondering if it's...weird to be a little confused."

I glanced over at Kairi who, luckily, didn't seem too bothered by his astounding ineptitude; bringing this up right in front of his own girlfriend. "Sora, you feel like you can trust Kairi with your heart too, right?"

"Well yeah, of course I feel the same way about her."

"...And you like kissing her, right?"

His eyes darted over to where Kairi was watching intently and she smiled, answering promptly for him. "He definitely does."

He blushed and nodded down towards his shoes.

"Now the important question: Sora, do you want to kiss _me_?"

"What!? No!"

I folded my arms. "And there's your answer."

"I don't-"

Kairi gently tried to explain it to him. "Sora, you're not wrong. The bond you have with Riku is a really, really wonderful thing. But...um..."

I took over for her. "Attraction is hugely vital and you can't force that where it isn't. So, about us specifically, Sora: we understand each other, want to protect and support each other. We both clearly feel that way. But...attraction? That's a zero for me, no offense."

"None taken." He laughed.

"Maybe in another life you two could be a great pair!" Kairi offered this advice like she was trying to be helpful, but I could tell by her smile she was just messing with us.

"Yeah, right..." Sora seemed much more at ease now, at least. "So, it's really not too weird that I feel that way about you?"

"Nope. Not unless you make it weird and try to make a move on me." I shrugged casually.

He glared. "Ugh, I already said I don't want to kiss you!"

"Good, I don't want to kiss you, either."

Kairi cleared her throat. "Well, I'm glad that's settled. I'm not entirely sure what I'd do if you two started making lovey-dovey faces at each other."

Grinning, Sora tickled her a little in the side. "I thought you said you wanted to sell pictures?"

"Ah well, I guess I'll have to earn my riches somewhere else." She lovingly pinched his nose and leaned against his arm. I could tell she wanted a minute or so alone with him but would never come out and outright ask for it.

Lucky for her, I'm observant. "I'll go grab us something to eat from the corner store over there. You two can just wait here."

Sora tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

I yanked him towards me and spoke in a low voice in his ear. "Because right now you need to go reassure Kairi that she's the _love of your life_."

"H-hey!...Seriously?"

I strolled off, giving him half a wave. "I'll take my time."

Once I made it into the store, I glanced back at them through one of the wide shop windows. Obviously Kairi was feeling much more comfortable about public affection. I sneaked back out around the corner and pulled out my camera. Sure, it was a little sleazy of me, but it was a pretty nice shot of the two of them with the fountain in the background. It'll make a nice gift sometime in the future. Heck, maybe I'll just make a compilation over the years and gift it to them if they ever end up getting married or something.

I paused and considered this a minute with a smile. If Sora had this much trouble just finally telling her he liked her, how he is ever going to work up the nerve to propose? It'll take him a while, that's for sure. Maybe Kairi will do it for him again.

Yeah, the future is certainly going to be fun.


	18. Kairi: A Lonely Shadow

**A/N: While normally I dislike interjecting, I felt it important to mention a small warning for those uncomfortable with non-consent situations. This chapter is also the heaviest in terms of sexual themes. While the rest of the story is safely rated T, this chapter may be slightly, ever so slightly, erring on the M side of things. (I'm not sure what exactly crosses the line.) It's not significant, but enough to make me have doubts about potentially upsetting someone. Since I was borderline concerned about it I felt a warning was necessary, just to be safe.  
**

 **Thanks for your understanding.**

 **The story will likely be concluded with the next chapter, with a possible epilogue to follow. If you've been following the journey so far, I appreciate it and hope it has at least been semi entertaining.  
**

 **-A. Moth**

* * *

"So...how is this supposed to work, again?" Roxas stared at his racket incredulously.

"It's not." Riku crossed his arms, refusing to even pick his up.

"Aw come on, it'll be fun!" Sora whined desperately, prodding at Ven's shoulder.

Ven scooped his up eagerly. "I dunno what you're trying to convince _me_ for, I already think it'll be great."

It was certainly great, at least, to have everyone together like this. And for a whole weekend away on the Wayward Archipelago, or so we called it. I had really missed our camping trips; we were almost two whole weeks into summer vacation and hadn't been able to go even once! It's too bad I couldn't convince Sora not to bring up his half-baked underwater tennis idea...

Aqua shook her head. "I suppose if you play it a bit like water polo you might have some luck..."

Terra also looked a bit skeptical. "And this is a popular sport here?"

"No..." I corrected, much to Sora's chagrin. "He just came up with it one day but never had a chance to test it out."

"Until today!" He eagerly tossed his racket back and forth between his hands.

Xion came skipping down the beach in the new swimsuit Namine and I had picked out for her. She had been so hesitant about the green color, but it was oh so definitely the right choice. I noticed most of the guys giving her a side glance, especially Riku. Very suspicious. I sneered a little and checked up on Sora. Thankfully, he was far too distracted trying to test if the tennis balls could float to notice. Which is good news for him, it means I don't have to give him a hard time later.

"Wait, what are we doing now?" Xion glanced in confusion at all the tennis rackets lying strewn about on the sand.

"Sora is trying to teach us how to play a game...but I'm afraid most of us think it may be a bad idea..." I was a little glad that Namine can be more blunt than me at times.

"Aw...what's wrong with it?" Sora pouted.

Aqua took it upon herself to try. "It just needs some improvement. To start with, there's no obvious way to score points. Without some kind of metric it would just dissolve into pelting each other with sodden tennis equipment..." She definitely raised a valid point.

"That could still be fun." Lea joked, trying to bounce one of the tennis balls as many times as he could on the edge of the racket. "Come on, let's just wing it."

That sounds like a supremely bad idea. But I knew how much he was looking forward to playing something with everyone…

"Sora, could I suggest something?"

His spirit was looking a little dampened. "Yeah..."

"The point of the game is to make lots of splashes, right? Why don't we fill some of the balloons we brought with water and use them instead of the tennis balls? Then we can play it on land, and instead of hitting them, we can use the rackets to try and deflect incoming attacks."

"Oh, I see!" Namine clapped her hands. "So, we would be throwing water balloons at each other and trying to play defensively in order to not get wet?"

Xion giggled and snatched the racket away from Roxas. "I'm game for that!"

Sora immediately brightened. "Yeah! That...that could work!"

Riku cleared his throat. "Alright, let's form two teams. There's ten of us, so we could do an even split, but we'll have to take a few things into account, here. I'll propose a division—feel free to convince me otherwise when I'm done." I saw Riku doing a quick calculation in his head.

"Roxas and Ven, you need to be on the same team, just so no one has to think twice about which one of you they're aiming at. No offense."

The two of them shrugged and nodded at each other.

"Sora and Roxas should probably be on opposite teams as well, just to make things even." Namine suggested.

"Right..." Riku pulled out a very sneaky smile. "So, final line-ups are going to be: Roxas, Ven, Namine, Kairi, and myself vs Sora, Lea, Xion, Aqua and Terra."

I gave a mock haughty laugh in Sora's direction. "That means I'm targeting _yooou._ "

Sora abruptly spun to face Riku. "Can I contest this for a second?"

Roxas held his arms up in the shape of an X. "Nope! If Kairi's on our team then we have a total advantage over you. There's no way you're not going easy on her and Namine. Kairi'll totally kill you later if you don't."

Xion gave Lea a high five and pointed over to Roxas. "Yeah, well we're coming straight after you!"

Namine backed away hesitantly. "I'm not really sure I'll be too good at this...I'm the only one without any battle experience. Maybe I should just-"

I firmly handed a racket over to her. "Namine, you're going to be our chief strategist. You know Riku and I will protect you. And we have those two for the offense." I jabbed my thumb at the two twins.

"Strategist?"

Riku held up the packet of balloons. "You just need to dart around and make sure that all of us are supplied with the ammo."

"Maybe we should make a few large piles in the sand along a dividing line. No one is allowed to cross it, but either team can take whatever you can reach." Aqua proposed another great idea, and everyone seemed to agree quite quickly.

And then began the task of filling all these balloons up…

* * *

It ended in a draw, or so we officially decided, because everyone ended up soaking wet by the end. I still think that Namine being the most dry out of all of us should account for something and both Riku and I should have earned extra points for absorbing most of that splash damage. Of course Lea had decided to be a jerk and target me specifically about halfway through because, as he put it, 'there's no way Sora will, but I know he wants to see you all wet'. Ugh, sometimes he's so troublesome…

I stretched out on my beach towel and took in the fresh sea air. It was definitely nice drying off and relaxing at the same time. I checked up on Namine who was still peacefully drawing under the beach umbrella, Xion asleep next to her. Maybe it was getting about time for me to get changed back into some regular clothes and go search around the hills for wherever the boys wandered off to. It had been a while since Sora and Riku chased off after that interesting bird Riku wanted to photograph. But who knows what they're up to now.

I made my way back towards the small beach house to get changed, pulling out that cute sun dress that also wouldn't be a huge pain to go hiking in.

Hmm? I saw what looked like a note tucked just inside my bag. When did that get there? It was on some fairly generic stationary and didn't seem to have any name written on it. I wonder if it was really meant for me or if it accidentally got mixed in with my stuff. I figured maybe I should just take a peek and if it looked like it was for someone else I could just apologize and return it to them. I undid the tape and folded it open.

 _I found a pretty orchid in the forest clearing I want to show you. Follow the left path past the stump that looks like an owl until you find the tree burnt by lightning. Go further into the woods, straight behind it until you find the clearing. Come alone._

There was no name signed, and it still wasn't clear the message was for me, but the handwriting was Sora's. Albeit, maybe written out in a hurry, but I definitely recognized the little loop he always made over his i's. So, probably. I giggled a little to myself. Whether or not this mystery orchid even exists, I have a feeling Sora just wrote me this note as a handy excuse to give us some private time together today. I suppose I can make up some excuse to get myself over there.

After I get changed let's see if he's actually found something or not…

* * *

I glanced around the clearing, definitely not spotting where this mystery orchid was supposed to be. Or Sora, for that matter. There was a small boulder in the center of the courtyard, covered with the slightest touch of moss. I managed to find a clear spot on the stone and took a seat, resting my bag down next to me. Closing my eyes, I tried to see if I could feel his presence anywhere nearby.

Riku was always so good at that. Sora too, to an extent. I mostly just sensed changing patterns of light and darkness like shadows shifting beyond a silver veil. But I'd learned both of their patterns pretty well now to be able to pick them out if they are close enough.

All I could hear were some birds and the rustling of the tree leaves in the gentle breeze. Nothing yet.

Oh well. Sora will be around eventually. Until then I just wanted to enjoy the peaceful afternoon silence. I leaned back on my arms, lifting my head up into the very bottom wisps of a sunbeam crossing the meadow.

I felt the rush of a sudden chill and shivered, opening my eyes to quickly check around me. Nothing still.

I sighed, shakily. I wonder what that could have been? Maybe just a rogue cold breeze? I anxiously started playing with the hem of my skirt, checking left and right again to see if Sora had finally come. I was suddenly very aware at how isolated I was from everyone else. I bit my lip in worry. I should have told someone where I was going. What if I had gotten lost? Or...what if it was…

I shook my head. It should be fine. I'm just being paranoid over nothing. He hasn't been to the island in so long I almost forgot about all that stalking nonsense. I tried to relax again, but I was just too on edge now to really sit still. Something kept nagging at the back of my mind and every fiber of my being just wanted to run back to the others. Sora...where are you…

I fidgeted and shivered again.

This was definitely not right.

The birds had stopped chirping.

I stood up on the rock, deciding I would just head back and if Sora wasn't at the camp I would just wait there until-

 _CRACK!_

I screamed in shock, falling off the rock completely to the sandy dirt below. I saw to my right one of the trees lurching as an old branch continued its noisy crash to the ground. It must have just...broken?

When nothing else happened, I sighed heavily, realizing it was just a mean tree. Such a silly thing to get scared over. I probably fell just as gracefully as that branch did, too. I lifted myself up off the ground a bit tenderly, noticing that my leg had gotten a bit scraped up on the rock on the way down. My ankle definitely didn't feel right either, probably because it had twisted under me after getting caught in one of my bag straps.

I tested it gingerly, and it seemed like it would be alright. Just...probably not the best idea to go on a run anytime soon. It should be fine by tomorrow morning at the latest.

The unmistakable chill of something dark returned quickly and unmistakably from behind me. I inhaled sharply, spinning around to face whatever it was. I barely saw the dark energy coming right for me, but my muscle memory ducked for me and my Keyblade deflected it, dissipating it into the air. Another blast quickly followed the first, but knowing I wasn't in a position to run, I created a magic shell around myself to absorb the impact. The force still sent me reeling a bit, and my back hit the rock sharply. With the third strike, I used the same magic, but pushed forward, knocking the energy back towards whoever was throwing it. Using the brief opening while they either dodged or got hit, I scrambled around the boulder to make a pseudo shield between me and whatever or whoever that was.

I heard nothing from the other side, so I raised my voice. "Whoever you are, you'd better not co-"

Some strange haze blasted across the clearing and my voice caught in my throat. What...what kind of magic was that...? I tried opening my mouth to speak again, but nothing, not even the sound of my breath came out. Why did everything taste...fuzzy? Either something was wrong with my ears, or my voice had been completely taken away. I vaguely remembered these symptoms being explained to me, but I had never experienced it myself before. Magic to render me speechless and unable to cast myself or something like that.

Alarmed, I steadied my hand on my blade. How was I supposed to reverse this condition? Esuna might work, but...

As I tried to cast it quickly, the magic just fizzled out in my hand. This is really _really_ bad. Most of my fighting power is magic based, too.

What else cured this condition? Herbs, right? But I didn't have my bag with me on this side of the rock.

Before I could try rushing out to snag the medicine pouch from my bag, some kind of solid black smoke flew out from behind me, wrapping itself around my wrist, dragging me back with it. I pulled back against it, but my ankle twisted down again and I felt myself gasp out in pain, not that I could hear it. Taking advantage of my vulnerability, I saw another smokey arm grab around my other wrist, leaving me struggling with both hands.

I tried shooting out a quick ice spell with my hand, but it fizzled into nothing and the smoke twisted my arm, sending the sparkling puff of energy shooting uselessly into the bushes. The smoke managed to drag me over to a large dead tree at the edge of the clearing and several other rings of that dark force began tying my body to place despite how much I tried kicking out at them. It seemed to be both solid and not solid in just the wrong ways. As I lashed out at them, my limbs passed straight through, but the minute it wanted to grab me, I couldn't shake it.

In only a moment I was stuck tight, unable to move. I shouted more silence, and tried once more to cast a curative spell. Every time, the spell would fail and the smoke would yank my arms painfully up over my head in punishment until I stopped.

I instead turned my attention across the clearing. I had a feeling I knew who was doing this. Sure enough, stepping out from the shadows towards me was _him_ again. I tried shouting again, forgetting about this stupid curse he must have put on me. He grinned over at me in his typical overconfident way.

"I've gotten a bit better at my penmanship, wouldn't you say? Not too hard to copy his style considering I've got his hand." Vanitas sneered at me, idly rolling his fingers through the air. "I'll admit my first letter was...crude. But I was so surprised at how easily I was able to draw you out somewhere alone."

I glared at him, hoping he would just explain what he wanted already. And how was he even able to attack anyway!? Ven should have sealed him. The only way he would be able to use this power is if he somehow...borrowed it from someone else? Which would certainly make sense. These dark plant-like arms don't really feel like anything he's ever used before. But...who would give him this power? Who could?

"You know, you aren't nearly as charming when you can't sass me back properly. And no tennis balls this time, either, I see." He gripped my chin and waggled my face back and forth to mock me. I tried pulling away from him but he only gripped harder, making me wince. "You've still definitely got that fighting spark in your eyes, though. Perfect."

Would he just get on with it already and tell me what he wants? Probably another pitch to _let the darkness in._ Ugh. I'm sure he has a reason other than just to taunt me. I think he sensed my impatience and released my face, stepping back a bit to examine me.

"Look at you, all confused. You really haven't figured it out yet?"

I felt some of my frustration slipping into doubt. Figured out…? Well obviously I figured out that he was the one who wrote me that stupid trick letter in my bag. What a stupidly obvious trap and I fell right for it. Come to think of it, he probably wrote that other weird unsigned letter I had gotten a long time ago, right before all this stalking stuff from him started. But something tells me the letters aren't what he's referring to.

Vanitas snapped, and all the strange dark smoke vines shifted, most of it wrapping around my waist as it lifted me up slightly off the ground. The others kept my arms completely useless up over my head. His hand returned to my face, slowly moving up along my cheek before pulling lightly at the ends of my hair. He then traced his fingers down my neck, and across my collarbone. What was he…?

I tried yelling, but he ignored my struggling silence completely. There was such a twisted smile on his face and I hated it. Why won't he just tell-

He fell forward, his face pressed uncomfortably close against the side of my neck. I froze, horrified that he was trying to bite me or something like some kind of vampire. He inhaled deeply into my skin and I shivered in revulsion.

As I waited, trapped, I felt his hand return to my hair, brushing it through his fingers as if he was enjoying playing with it. Lifting his face closer to my ear, I heard him growl in a guttural, almost primal kind of way as he pushed his body into me. I tried desperately to hide my fear; surely that was the response, the thrill he was seeking from me. What was he even _doing_?

He inhaled again and a sickening shiver of dread passed through me. It couldn't be...was he really _smelling my hair_? That was just like…

"I can feel your heart beating faster, Princess. Does this excite you a little?"

I desperately tried to answer in the negative, but my voice was utterly useless. I shook my head so hard it smacked against a jutting section of bark on the tree, which seemed to amuse him. I tried to pull myself away but the darkness he controlled held me too tightly. I stared at that face and realized that he might have stolen my voice, but he didn't cover my mouth.

He wiped my saliva off his face, squishing my cheeks so hard together I couldn't move my head away. I couldn't tell he if was angry over what I'd done or not because he just maintained that cold, unfeeling gaze on me, saying nothing. I expected him to scold me, or at least to strike back in some way, but he just...stared for a while longer until he released my face once more.

It was like a silent threat. He knew there was nothing I really could do. And his silence was almost lauding that over my head, as if it was too obvious to even be said aloud. He lowered one hand to my waist and returned his face near to the side of mine, breaking the silence with a dark laugh right in my ear.

I felt his teeth lightly graze my neck and he growled again, kissing it down low, right where my neck and shoulder met. At the same time I felt the hand pressing against my waist slowly start tracing itself down across my hip towards my thigh. And I felt such a wave of fear that he could possibly be wanting something other than my heart this time.

Stop it! Stop it now!

I twisted myself away from his hand, kicking out with my injured leg wanting nothing more than to just scream at him. How _dare_ he do something like this to me. At least my legs weren't as tightly bound as the rest of me.

My knee made contact with his chest and I shoved out with everything I had, pushing him slightly away. He chuckled darkly, grabbing his hand around my ankle and holding my entire leg hostage. With his other hand he traced some lines around the bare skin of my knee.

"You know...it's really not fair how soft your skin is. But I also didn't expect it to taste so good either."

Please stop this.

I knew it would be useless to scream, but I did anyway, shouting everything I could think of at him in desperation, trying to regain control over my own leg. His laugh increased in volume and he lifted it up a little higher.

A horrible smile crept up on his face as I saw his eyes wander.

Ugh! UGH! Creep!

I tried shifting my other leg over to block his view but he just used his stupid smoke arm vine things to pull it to the side again. Why did I have to wear a dress today...

"Little frilly white ones with a pink bow. How predictable."

My face burned and I seethed. I have never felt so absolutely violated before. What made him think he had the right to do any of this?

I struggled harder, trying to kick him again with my leg. He temporarily lost his grip and angrily tried to regain it, pulling back against me sharply, right against my ankle. Pain shot up my body in such a sudden wave that I couldn't hide it. I gasped, silently, as the pain continued its course. My whole leg felt like it was on fire and I noticed a few drops of blood falling down from the cut on the side that he must have irritated. Shakily, I saw that he had almost completely frozen, his eyes transfixed on the blood on my leg. His grip had also significantly loosened, as if he was in shock as well at what happened.

I knew while he was distracted this was my chance. I could lightly feel the bonds on my arms slightly loosen as his concentration broke. It wasn't enough to do anything now, but if I could keep him distracted, I might be able to work with it. I pushed my heel against the bark of the tree to mostly push off my sandal, balancing it on my toes. I really wasn't sure what my plan was, but I had to act. I flicked my foot forward as hard as I could, flinging my shoe out across the clearing. It crashed into some bushes and rattled them.

Alarmed, he spun around with his hands up, I assume to fight off what he thought may be a potential attacker come to rescue me. I felt the bonds around my arms slacken just enough that I could swing my wrist forward. I could barely see the strap of my bag peeking out from behind the stone and I knew I just had the one shot at this...

Summoning my Keyblade again in my hand, I flicked my wrist and directed it to dive forward towards the sand where my bag lay. It wasn't easy to telekinetically spin this thing, and I only had this one chance to make this shot. If it could only clip onto the strap, then...

Yes!

It embedded itself into the sand, the length of the blade running right through the loop of the bag strap. At this point Vanitas had clearly realized he had been tricked after he fished my shoe out of the bushes and he spun around to confront me. But he hadn't seen me throw my Keyblade to the sand. I waited until he fully faced me before calling it back.

It twitched to life, catching my bag as it flipped up to zip back towards me. Both sailed unimpeded right into the back of Vanitas' head, knocking him down to the ground. The dark arms holding me collapsed temporarily and I wiggled out of them, snatching my bag up and ripping the medicine pouch off the side. I felt the dark tendrils reaching back for me but I knocked it away, scurrying as fast as I could behind the nearest tree. The arms continued to chase me, one yanking me back by my leg once more.

I clawed at the ground, grabbing onto some roots to keep myself from being dragged back to the clearing. I knew I couldn't run, I just had to get my magic back. I dug through the pouch. There had to be the right herb in here somewhere...

Aha! I spotted the familiar leaf and jammed it under my tongue, tasting the overwhelming peppermint flavor as it filled my mouth.

I immediately shot a ray of light at the dark arm holding onto me and it almost shrieked, crumbling into a dried husk. More came charging at me and I practically dove away from them, back towards the clearing. Just as another arm threatened to grab me, I planted myself firmly in the sand and braced with a strong reflective shield, glowing strong with light.

Even just lightly brushing against my shield caused the dark arms to crumble into dust. He couldn't touch me here.

Vanitas tutted, crossed his arms and observed me with a frustrated look on his face. So many questions were racing through my head, I didn't even know where to start with them. Knowing him, though, he probably wouldn't answer a single one. I wanted to scream at him, call him a dirty pervert or some other nasty name but I don't think that would help at all.

I decided to try speaking anyway, to at least try to get answers. "This whole time...this whole time that you've been watching me, following me...were you just waiting for a chance to do this!? Why!?"

Like I thought, he said nothing. Something in his eyes looked...so sad. Broken. It was almost exactly like Sora when he had been standing up by the lighthouse that day. There _had_ to be a reason.

 _You really haven't figured it out yet?_ That's what he asked me. He must have given me clues, then. I just need to rethink back to what he's told me and try to look past all his dripping sarcasm. He must have said more than I realized...

 _Hate me so much you can't even stand it when I visit?_

 _Won't you at least listen to me...?_  
 _Surely you must know something about emotions and feelings? Hope, happiness...love?_

 _Have you ever considered that maybe it is your light that is blinding you?_ _That's why you never even considered they could love you, desire you!_

 _Don't you want to be closer?_

I shivered. Is...something like that even possible!? Could he actually...also...

"Vanitas, do you...do you _like_ me?"

"N-no!" He snarled, his face looking angrier than ever. But he couldn't hide that slight redness in his cheeks.

I suppose that answers the question.

Why does this keep _happening_ to me!? How could he even...? I barely spent any time at all with him!

But I suppose...because of that connection between him and Sora before...could it be that he has feelings for me because of that? Sora's feelings must have been so strong, some of it lingered, even after the connection was broken. And now he's left with a confused infatuation over me, I assume.

I doubt he understands what's going on inside him at all. He was never given a chance to really feel or understand emotions properly, because all the good feelings in him were just forcibly stamped out and replaced with negativity before. Now that he's finally been given the freedom to explore them he...doesn't know how.

I'm not really his biggest fan, to say the least, but I can't condemn him either. He really is like a lost puppy in the wild, abused and left out on the streets, desperately hoping to find a place to be. It isn't surprising that he doesn't understand, and lashes out all the time. He turned, obviously ready to make his escape.

"Wait!" I lowered my shield and tried to stand as well as I was able.

He glanced over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes in confusion, still saying nothing.

"I'm sorry...I didn't realize..."

"What? Didn't realize that I had feelings?" He scoffed. "It's nothing new. I'm used to it."

"No! That's not..." I felt really guilty. Yes, I was still mad about the underwear thing, but I felt like that was a bit of a secondary issue right now. I took a step towards him and reached out, my heart pounding. He still stood, only looking at me over his left shoulder, watching as I grabbed for his left hand.

"Vanitas, I know why you looked upset when you saw the cut on my leg. I saw your face. You didn't want to hurt me."

He let me take his hand and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"You really think that's why I...? You think I _care_ about you? I just wanted to use you and be done with it. To get you out of my head!" He snarled, but I could see pause behind those eyes of his.

I knew that wasn't true. It was clear to me now the reason he wanted to 'give me darkness in my heart' was so that I could understand him. Because he _cared_ about having me understand him. He wouldn't have bothered with that otherwise.

I suddenly felt so guilty for throwing those tennis balls at his head, now.

"You obviously care, and that's a really, really good thing."

"...why?" He looked at me, almost like a frightened child. He needed help. He was so unused to good thoughts and feelings he was running from them in fear, retreating back to the dark thoughts he was comfortable with, even though they hurt him and others.

"Because...while it isn't easy now, and I can feel you are full of so many confusing new emotions, it means at the end of it all, if you keep trying to figure things out I really think you'll be okay. It makes me believe in you."

He trembled a little under my grip. I had never seen him this vulnerable before.

"But...you just need help. It's okay for you to want to get close to me, to understand your feelings, but assaulting me like that isn't the right way to-"

He ripped his hand out from mine and grabbed my neck so suddenly I didn't have time to react.

"Why would I want help!?"

I gasped and tried pulling his hand away but he only dug his fingers in further.

"You'd never be mine, anyway! Not until I get rid of _him_."

I struggled to breathe as he tightened his grip, lifting me up off the ground. It hurt. It hurt so badly. I tried kicking out at him but it only made him clench harder.

"That's why I have to force you!"

Not even a squeak could escape my throat. No...I know he doesn't want to do this, not really...

My vision tunneled as it started to go black but I barely saw something fast flash across my eyes. My feet stumbled as they dropped to the ground and in the same instant I could breathe, I saw Vanitas sprawled out in front of me with Riku on top of him, violently smashing him into the ground. I teetered unsteadily, choking, gasping for air but felt a warm, strong embrace wrap around me tight, keeping me from falling.

I wanted to just melt into Sora's arms, but I pawed my way out enough to hoarsely shout down to the two boys wrestling down at my feet. "S-stop!"

Thankfully he listened to me, pulling Vanitas up to his feet by his jacket and shoving him forcefully away from us. Vanitas spit on the ground, wiping his face.

"I guess your prince and his knight are finally here to protect you."

I felt Sora's arms tense around me and he huddled me closer to him. I could barely breathe properly yet, still coughing into Sora's chest. I felt him lightly rubbing my back and it was wonderfully soothing right now.

Riku shoved Vanitas again, hard. "Shut up and get out of here."

Vanitas turned his eyes to me and he sneered. "Don't think I'm done with you. Just one taste isn't enough."

I shivered and turned away from his eyes, disgusted. The good is in there somewhere. But it's swamped by so much...muck.

I could feel Sora's breathing increase slightly but he kept his voice surprisingly steady. "Leave her alone."

"Make me, loser. You talk big but just moments ago, choking the life out of her would have been _so easy_."

"Y-you-"

Riku interjected forcefully. "You mess with either of them and you'll regret it. I won't say it again: Go. Now."

He shrugged and gave a lackadaisical wave over his shoulder, starting off into the darkness of the woods. "Thanks for the eye candy, Pink Ribbon. I'll remember it."

Ugh! I hope he doesn't think it's okay to start calling me that.

Sora, Riku and I stayed silently waiting until it was clear that his aura had left the area. Sora was the first to speak, wrapping me up in a tight hug for a moment before looking me all over.

"Are you okay!? Did he hurt you!?" He patted my head, and my shoulders, searching for any obvious injury. His eyes spotted my leg and he quickly knelt down to examine it. "Did he do this!?"

I finally felt like my throat was steady enough to speak again. "Sora, calm down, it's okay. I'm...I'll be fine."

I could see Riku eyeing me with the same concern, only a lot less vocally. Sora was working on trying to heal the cut on my leg, but it wasn't really doing much for my ankle which felt a lot more swollen now. I tested out some weight on it but it only made me wince and stumble forward a bit. He jumped up and caught me.

"I-It's okay, really." I felt a few tears welling up and I struggled to keep them down. If I cried I knew it would only make them worry even more. I tried to get over to my bag but my leg absolutely wasn't having it.

"Kairi, do you want me to carry you back? I don't mind."

I knew he would offer something like that but I felt guilty just accepting it. Here I was, just being a helpless damsel again. I hated it. But at the same time I really don't think I could walk very quickly and I would risk hurting myself further. I think he could tell I was wrestling with it in my head because he laid a hand on my shoulder and gave me a little smile.

"It'd make me feel a lot better if I could. Please? For me?"

I tried hiding my smile. Seems like Riku is trying to teach him a thing or two about winning arguments: trying to make it seem like I'm helping _him_ out when he's actually doing it to benefit me. But I can't really argue with those eyes, either. I bit my lower lip and could only nod slowly, brushing a few spare tears away.

He perked up, hastily spinning around and crouching on the ground, offering his back up to me. "When's the last time you had a piggy back ride, huh?"

I really appreciated him trying to lighten the mood, especially since Riku was still silently standing there with a really dour look on his face. I hesitated before grabbing hold, feeling a little embarrassed about it. As a child it was such an innocent thing, but now the idea of wrapping myself around him was...different.

But I'm sure it must still be fun. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into his back. He lifted himself slowly up off the ground, reaching around with his arms to gently scoop my legs up, being very careful with my left leg in particular. I buried my face in his back, blushing when I felt his fingers on my thighs slide down to just behind my knee.

"Is that feeling okay?" He checked in with me and I nodded. It's feeling more than okay. I'm not sure he's ever touched me there before and it tickled a little, in a really nice way.

"Okay! Up we go!" He stood up as much as he could, hunching just a bit so I could have some balance. He then glanced over at Riku who slipped my bag over his shoulder. "Ready?"

"Yeah..." Riku nodded, following mostly silently next to us.

I buried my face into the back of Sora's neck and sighed into him, appreciating how calm his spirit made me feel. I saw a few goosebumps on his skin and giggled, realizing I could probably tease him pretty badly in this position.

I heard Riku stomping around angrily next to me and I could tell there was something really bothering him.

"Riku, I can tell you're still worried. It's fine."

He hummed and stared back at the clearing, maybe not trusting that Vanitas had really left.

"What is it? Tell me." I pressed.

He glanced at Sora before falling back, moving closer to me and lowering his voice. "What was up with that nickname?"

Nickna…? Oh. That. _Pink Ribbon_. I really hesitated saying anything, knowing that any explanation would _really_ upset Sora in particular. I think Riku had some idea which is why he probably hadn't wanted to bring it up now. Oops.

Sora tilted his head in confusion. "Nickname? Whose nickname?"

"Oh! Just um...earlier I made up a funny nickname for Riku that he doesn't like. I think he's still a little upset about it. I'll tell you later." I'm glad he couldn't see my face because it would probably be way too obvious I was making that up on the spot. But I suppose it wasn't _really_ a lie, was it, Grumblebee?

I could tell Riku wasn't particularly happy about me bringing that up again, but he didn't interject likely because he realized it was a perfectly valid excuse for right now to keep Sora off our scent.

Sora laughed. "Sure. But you know if you tell me I'm going to have to use it, too."

"You'd better not."

While that somehow that seemed to satisfy Sora's curiosity, I waited a moment before locking eyes with Riku again to try and pass the real answer along to him as stealthily as possible.

Once I was sure he was paying attention, I tried to indicate the downward direction with my head, eyes flicking towards my skirt, hoping he would understand. Judging by his face, I think he did. I saw fury building up in them so in the most hushed voice I could, I tried to alleviate some of his worries.

"Only with _these_." I pointed to my eyes. "Not _these_." I waved my hand.

He relaxed a little but still looked incredibly agitated, for good reason. "...Anything else?"

I hesitated again and made sure Sora was still not really paying much mind to me. I reached one hand up to my face and silently mimed out to Riku, touching my lips first with two fingers and resting them on the side of my neck to indicate where he had kissed me.

He kept clenching and opening his fists. "I'm sorry. I should have noticed sooner."

I shook my head and noticed Sora was slowing a bit. "Am I missing something?"

"It's fine, Sora. By the way, how did you two even find me?"

"Namine said she saw you wandering off into the woods. I wasn't quite sure where you were so, uh...Riku volunteered to track you."

"Of course he did." I rolled my eyes over at that little bloodhound of ours.

Riku continued the story from there. "Once we got close we both sensed that dark aura and ran straight towards it. I'm sorry we weren't faster."

"Yeah...I'm really sorry, Kairi. I feel like I let you down pretty badly." Sora sagged a little under me.

"Stop apologizing. Both of you." I bonked them each over the head one after the other. "Also, Sora, you didn't let me down at all. I was the one who made a stupid decision and couldn't handle myself properly. Besides, you certainly aren't letting me down now—quite the opposite in fact."

He laughed sheepishly and smiled back over his shoulder at me. I re-wrapped my arms around his neck and snuggled up closer, giving his earlobe a quick little nibble. He turned bright red and stumbled forward.

"Careful." Riku flicked him in the head. He gave me a little wink, too. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Sora only volunteered to carry you for the benefits and not out of the goodness of his little heart."

"Did not!"

At this point we were basically almost all the way out of the woods. I could see the ground getting more and more sandy. Before we made it much further, I saw most of our friends running over towards us. Xion and Lea were probably still dealing with dinner since they had drawn the straws earlier for that chore.

Aqua immediately noticed my injured leg and fussed over it, trying to heal it a bit more. Riku explained succinctly what happened and Ven's face immediately looked stormy.

"I'll go after him myself. He won't run from me. I have no idea how he broke out of the lock...I'll have to redo it."

I tried telling him not to worry, but he just excused himself with an apology and ran off into the woods. Terra went after him anyway, just to be safe I suppose.

"Now, everyone please stop fussing over me. I'll be fine."

Roxas gestured to my foot. "Yeah, but with your leg hurting let's just get you back to the camp site before it gets dark."

I saw Namine fidgeting nervously as she walked next to Sora and I. She was definitely worried about me, but now wasn't a really good time to vent to her about some of the things that happened. The next time us girls were alone, for sure.

Once we arrived at the camp, Sora gently lowered me down onto one of the stumps we used as chairs and Aqua continued checking my ankle over.

"Do you mind if I use some ice magic on it?"

I shook my head and she began very slightly chilling her hands around it, most likely hoping to help with the swelling. It hurt a little but I tried not to wince too badly. Everyone was already tense enough.

Xion fumbled with the ladle she was using to stir a pot over the fire when she saw me. "Kairi! What's wrong with your foot?"

"Please don't worry, it only hurts because I stupidly tripped over a rock, so...it should be fine in a little bit, really."

Ignoring the cooking fire altogether, Lea wandered over, shaking his head at me disapprovingly. "Doesn't look like it's just from an accident..."

"Vanitas." Riku answered tersely, and I saw Lea clench his fists.

"Lovely...and here I was all happy to just relax by a nice fire with some food and company and now I need to go teach a lesson to that snarky little bas-"

I shouted his name and crossed my arms at him in frustration. "I don't need everyone charging off and ganging up on him. Ven said he would take care of it and I trust him to do that."

Namine gave me a very gentle hug. "What is it that you need, then?"

I returned her cuddle momentarily before offering my answer. "I need for everyone to just calm down and go back to normal. I don't want any more attention."

Sora was pacing around at this point, obviously torn between comforting me or giving me space. That, and he probably also wanted to have a conversation with Vanitas about everything as well. I imagine it cuts harder for him and Ven than anyone else. I didn't want to discuss what happened in detail, not yet, but I did feel like I could at least explain a little to diffuse a few things.

"Listen, if it helps at all, he wasn't antagonizing me just because. It was clear to me that he has a lot of really confused things going on inside and doesn't know how to channel them well. Obviously it doesn't excuse confronting me like that, but it wasn't just pointlessly malicious."

Lea didn't seem comforted by this at all. "I don't care if the guy has a reason. Hell, everyone always thinks they have a good justifiable reason for doing everything, even the most reprehensible stuff..."

Aqua halted the ice treatment and sighed. "I understand what you mean, Kairi."

Roxas nodded. "Everyone just needs to have a little patience, I agree. But that doesn't mean he gets to bully you around."

I smiled and gave Roxas a little boop on the nose. "Look at you, telling everyone to have patience. That's a new one."

He waved me off with a smile and a lot of the tension in the area dissipated with it. Lea also looked like he was about to comment but Riku interrupted him, pointing over towards the pot of dinner on the fire, currently bubbling over.

Lea swore and darted back to grab it off the flames. Smells a bit like burnt curry.

Xion and Sora both rushed over to help and I watched him closely. He was looking much more relaxed now, to my relief.

"I guess your spicy curry will be extra _hot_ tonight, huh?" He prodded at the burning bits with a stick.

Lea clicked his tongue. "Get your stupid puns out of here."

He looked back at me and grinned. "Not if Kairi thinks it's funny."

Riku lowered himself down onto a chair with a sigh. "Then I guess we'd better get used to it."

It was certainly nice to see everyone perk up a bit, and I was also looking forward to a nice evening chatting around the fire. Despite Sora's silly joke, the curry really was fairly spicy. I guess Xion has gotten acclimated to eating Lea's spicy stuff but poor Namine still needed to douse it with some extra honey to make it a bit easier for her to handle.

If everything had gone according to plan today, we would be all hiking up to the top of the dune to look at the stars through Ven's telescope. But since he wasn't here it felt a little wrong breaking it out.

"Well, since we aren't going star gazing..." Xion prodded at the fire with a long stick. "maybe we could try the whole 'ghost stories round the campfire' thing? I've always wanted to."

That certainly sounded fun to me. Anything to keep everyone's mind off of the actual scare we had earlier today.

Sora raised his arm quickly. "Only if I don't have to go first! I need to think of a really good one this time."

Lea got a very eager look on his face. "Oh, I'll gladly go first."

I saw Roxas wince a little. "Uh...maybe we should start off with something a bit more tame. Namine, you want to give it a try?"

"S-something scary? Okay...um..."

Well, this was going to be interesting.

"Once upon a time-"

"It's not supposed to be a fairy tale." Roxas tried to correct her but Xion shot him a look.

"Just let her work."

Namine cleared her throat and started again. "Okay, so um...one day there was...um..." Her eyes searched for something to give her an idea. "There was a...haunted...pen."

Aqua hummed a bit. "And what made it haunted, exactly?"

"Um...a guy used it once. And...he's dead now."

There was a bit of an awkward silence but Sora happily shrugged and dismissed it. "Works for me."

"So, one day a girl found this pen. When she tried to draw with it, she realized that everything she drew started...coming alive. It would jump right up off of the paper!"

"Ooh...interesting..." Xion leaned forward, curiously.

"And...then the drawings...ran away!"

We all sat silently, waiting for her to continue, but she just sat there looking confused.

"T-that's it."

Sora frowned. "...I don't get it."

Everyone else, me included, seemed equally confused. I think I had a vague idea and decided to take a stab at it. "Namine, is it scary because...the girl lost her art?"

She nodded. "I would hate for that to happen! It takes a lot of time to make art and to lose it like that would be horrifying!"

I saw Riku trying hard not to smile and Aqua shook her head gently. "I suppose horror is, after all, subjective." I'm glad she always tried to be so encouraging.

Roxas shoved Lea in the shoulder. "Fine, you can go now."

He cracked his knuckles and gave his neck a stretch. "Perfect. So, picture this: one day, a small child is playing in her room with her dolls. She loves her dolls, but there was one doll she was _never_ supposed to touch. But her mom wasn't home from the store yet so she thought, well, maybe it would be okay to play with this special doll, if only for a few minutes. She gently pulled it down from the shelf in her mother's bedroom and felt her silky hair, wanting to give her some cute little braids or...whatever else girls do when they play with dolls...and took the doll back to her playroom. After a few minutes she suddenly hears the very angry voice of her mother calling out to her from the bedroom. 'Oh what a naughty girl you are! I bet you are playing with my doll! Come here right now, or else!'"

I tried not to laugh at his silly mother impression while he continued his story.

"Scared, but knowing she couldn't disobey her mother, the little girl started walking back towards the mothers bedroom. But as she drew closer, the closet door near the bedroom suddenly slid open, and she saw her mother's face, frightened and trembling, staring at her from inside. 'Don't go in the bedroom, sweetie. I heard her, too! Come hide in here with me...'"

Lea stared at all of us, eagerly awaiting our reactions. Roxas blinked a few times and spoke first. "...was it her nobody?"

Lea glared at him. "No, it wasn't-"

Xion leaned forward. "Or a replica, maybe?"

"No!" Lea shouted, folding his arms across his chest angrily. "For most people it's weird to have multiple...ugh, nevermind."

Sora sighed again. "I don't get this one either. What happened?"

I could tell Riku was steadily getting more and more amused as he watched silently in the corner.

"I assume," Aqua tried to explain "that the horror comes from not knowing which mother is real, and as a result, what the other mother could be."

Namine considered this. "I would go hide in the closet with the second mother. She seemed less angry."

"Yeah, but then you're trapped in a closet with a possible non-nobody, non-replica, scary thing." Sora argued.

"Oh, I don't mind closets too much. DiZ made me sleep in a closet so I've gotten quite used to them." Namine said this so plainly it was almost heartbreaking.

Riku sighed. "I kept telling you just to go to the bedroom anyway..."

Roxas made a loud sound of disgust. "Sorry he did that to you. That's pretty cruddy."

She waved her hand to dismiss it. "It's fine. It was very nice thinking space."

Sora was still trying to puzzle out the story. "Maybe they had a pet myna bird so it only _sounded_ like the mom."

"And the mom just conveniently forgot that they had a pet bird?" Riku gave him a look.

"Uh...maybe it just flew in through an open window?"

Lea shook his head. "I don't think you guys are really understanding the point. It's not supposed to be a mystery. Just a sense of 'woo that's creeepy'. You're overthinking it."

"I'll admit it is a little...creepy. In theory, anyway." Aqua frowned. "The worst fears are those that never fully reveal themselves."

"True. But it doesn't always transfer over to stories so easily." Riku agreed and Lea just huffed.

"Fine, Mr. Big shot, let's see you do any better. Unless Aqua wants to take over."

She took in a deep breath, staring into the flames. "I...think I'd rather not share a ghost story, if that's alright with everyone."

It was painfully clear what she was hesitant about. I'm sure there are far more horrors lingering in the darkness for so long that any story would simply pale in comparison. It certainly wouldn't be a very nice reminder to try and bring those memories back out.

Lea shakily apologized, obviously realizing his mistake.

"I can go." Roxas volunteered quickly, hoping to change the subject. "Pence loves spooky stuff so I think I can remember one of them."

I noticed my body starting to feel a little tired and I snuggled a bit closer to where Sora was sitting. He moved his arms to my waist and I relaxed against him.

Xion sighed. "Aw, but I've heard all of Pence's stories. I want to hear one from you!"

"But I don't really know any of my own..."

"I know one." Riku smiled a bit deviously from the corner. "But I'm not sure you want to hear it."

"Oh? And why's that? Don't think we can handle it?" I stuck out my tongue at him in a little in playful impudence.

"Because it came with a warning."

I heard Sora hum behind me in a rather amused tone. "Really? So like, if we hear the story we are going to be haunted or something?"

"Possibly." Riku said this so seriously it was almost chilling. He came over closer to the fire and sat down. Jeez, he's a good actor sometimes.

Lea gave an audible scoff. "Sure, let's give the _cursed_ story a listen. Besides, it didn't curse you when you heard it, right? Must not be that bad."

Roxas snickered a little. "That, or the curse _did_ affect him and it's only side affect is it turns you into a jerk."

"If that's the case the two of you won't be changed in the slightest." Riku retorted tersely and I could feel Sora trying his best not to laugh behind me.

Xion looked incredibly excited now. "So! What's the story?"

Riku held up a hand. "First, I have to explain something. A few months ago I was poking around the old library in the clubhouse, when I found a very unusual book tucked far in the back. It was stuck flat against the back of the shelf, with several other books pushed up against it to completely hide it from view. I wondered what could be so special about this book to hide it from any visitors. It had no name, no author, nothing identifiable of any kind on the cover. However, when I opened it to the first page, there was one single sentence written down: if anyone reads this book and shares this story with another soul, all will be cursed forever. At that point, I tried to check the spine to see if there was anything written there, or possibly on the back. Nothing at all. When I reopened to the first page, I noticed that even the words I had seen written before had now disappeared, almost like the ink had evaporated altogether."

Xion frowned. "So...did you read it?"

"Of course. That's why I wanted to warn all of you—if this story is really meant to never be shared, I could be cursing us all." His mouth curled into a smile again. "Still want me to go on?"

There was a hesitant silence across the campfire and he cleared his throat.

"So...it turns out the book was actually the diary of a young girl who used to live in that mansion long, long ago."

Namine gave a sigh of relief. "Oh! So...that warning must have just been something the girl wrote to keep people from reading her diary."

"That's what I thought. But the more I read, the more I realized that simply wasn't the case. You see, that mansion has had quite a variety of uses over the years. They say a family once lived there who did some demonic things, but all of it was based off of hearsay and no one could really confirm any of that. But the reputation for it being a bad place stuck and no one wanted to use it. At some point, after it had been abandoned for some time, a family with nowhere else to go decided to use the space. The girl explains that her father was once quite a wealthy man, but with the advent of the brand new tram system that had just been invented at the time, his father's business was no longer profitable and they lost everything."

"That's so sad..." Namine clutched her hands together. "I suppose that is one problem with forward progress. Sometimes it forces lots of people to have to change their livelihoods."

Roxas chewed on his lip a little, thinking. "She must have lived there a long time ago then. Those trams are _really_ old."

Riku agreed and continued. "In her diary, she wrote a lot about how unhappy she was living in an old, dusty mansion so far from her friends. But then she said one day, her father began acting quite strangely. She said he had always been so angry about losing his wealth, spending every day cooking up plans to earn it back, but one day he seemed...madder than usual. He claimed it was a curse. A curse he could only break by making the right...sacrifices. A way to have him be famous forever, even if it was in infamy."

Everyone sat in silence again, and Riku spoke on, his voice still just as serious as ever.

"The last thing the girl wrote in her diary, was her deepest, darkest fear: that her father was going to do something unspeakably horrible to try and break the curse on his family. She was so frightened she locked herself in her room, and she tried her own hand at magic, endlessly repeating that if her father should indeed do as she feared, she wanted the curse to forever follow him. To bury her father's name into obscurity so no one would ever know of him—the exact thing he would hate the most. She also said she would put a curse upon the words in her own diary, so that any who shared this story with another would forever be haunted by her vengeful ghost for keeping the memory of her father alive."

Xion pulled her knees closer to her body. "S-so...what happened to her?"

Riku just shrugged. "Nothing else was written. Maybe it was all a lie, or maybe the girl's curse really did work and buried all knowledge of her family. But that means...something very bad must have happened to her in that house...and now all of us may be cursed, too."

He surveyed all of our horrified faces very seriously, then broke into wild laughter. "Wow, I didn't think you would all fall for it that easily."

"Augh, Riku you jerk! Now I'm going to have nightmares going back to our clubhouse!" Sora reached over and smacked his friend in the arm, grumbling.

Namine frowned. "So...the girl never did live there?"

Riku held up a hand. "Actually, she did. And I did find her dairy in the bookshelf, but it was pretty obviously standard girl stuff so I just left it alone."

Xion tutted at him. "Wait, so you found a girl's diary and you _read_ it!?"

Roxas shook his head at him. "Man, that's pretty low..."

"I _just_ said I put it back!"

I was glad to see Aqua laughing a bit along with everyone. So at least she wasn't taking what happened before to heart.

I started feeling a bit more sleepy, my eyes a bit sore. I rubbed them and yawned, trying to pay attention, but I felt my attention drifting into my own head more and more. I felt Sora's hands tighten around my waist and I slumped back into him a little further, letting him be my back rest. He was always so comfortable…

I wonder if Ven will get back tonight. I bet Aqua is still worried about those two, too. I really should tell him about what Vanitas said to me. It might make a big difference in helping him recover. But I really didn't want to dwell on those thoughts any more tonight. I heard some laughter and my eyes blinked open slightly to try and see what was going on. I saw Aqua again smiling pretty brightly next to me and I relaxed once more. This is why I love camping trips…

It is so wonderful to see everyone so happy...

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, it was already early dawn. I could see some light pouring in through a small crack of the tent. But...when had I even gotten into the tent in the first place? I sat up, noticing two things: first, that I was very neatly tucked into my bed and second, that Sora was in here with me. He was sitting somewhat slumped to the side against a massive pile of pillows, facing out towards the entrance of the tent.

I said his name gently, as softly as possible, but he didn't respond. Someone, probably him, probably carried me back to bed sometime last night then he decided to sit there like a night watchman trying to keep me safe. He probably still felt guilty about what happened in the forest.

Slipping out from the sleeping bag, I slowly crawled over to him, leaning around his shoulder to get a glimpse at his face.

He was so cute, snoozing up against that pile he had undoubtedly stacked up to keep himself upright and awake as long as possible. I didn't really want to wake him, especially since he probably didn't sleep much at all, but if I don't wake him up he'll probably feel a bit embarrassed knowing he fell asleep while watching me. I backed up even more carefully than before and returned back to the bed.

Time to get clever and try my acting again.

I found a loose sock lying near my bag and balled it up, aiming it carefully at his back. Just as I let it fly, I pulled the blanket back up over me and pretended to be asleep. I heard Sora mumble a bit in surprise and heard him turn quickly around to check on me. Once I heard him rustling a little I gave an exaggerated stretch and yawn, opening my eyes.

"Oh, good morning, Sora! How long have you been awake?"

He rubbed his eyes blearily. "Mnnuh...I dunno..."

I giggled. "And what are you doing in my tent? Watching me sleep?"

This seemed to startle him awake and he pawed back at the entrance, trying to grab hold of the flap. "N-no! I was just making sure you were okay and not in trouble and uh...not, uh...I-I'll just go..."

"Don't be silly, I enjoy your company."

He fidgeted, clearly not sure what to do with himself. "U-um it's a bit chilly this morning, right? Maybe I'll go get a morning fire started..."

"Thanks, but you'd better not be running away."

"Nope, I'll come back!" He assured me quickly, slipping outside.

Okay, time to quickly take this opportunity and get some fresh clothes put on...though there was no telling exactly when he would come back, so I had to be a bit surreptitious about it.

With a little bit of finagling, I managed to pull some fresh underclothes on from under the blankets. I heard the curtain moving a bit and Sora slipped back in, plopping himself down onto his pillow throne.

He gave me a sleepy salute. "Fire's ready..."

I could tell he was likely to drift back to sleep soon and I glanced back and forth between him and my bag. I still wasn't finished changing, but with him sitting right here...I suppose I could kick him out of the tent again for a minute, but that felt a bit rude and he was already looking so comfortable slumped up against those pillows…

I guess there's no harm in it.

I unzipped my bag and fished out a few fresh tank tops. Once I had my outfit ready, I quickly glanced back over at him. I couldn't quite tell if he had already fallen back asleep or not, but he was breathing quite steadily, not moving very much. Well...I decided that even if he was awake I didn't care. Vanitas might have stolen a look at my underclothes without my permission, but that didn't kill me. Besides, if someone is going to see them, I'd happily choose for it to be this slumbering bum over here.

I grabbed my shirt around the bottom and swiftly slipped it up over my head. Sora immediately fell over with a thump, scrambling back up while at the same time trying to cover his eyes. Oops, guess he was awake after all.

"Ka-Ka—yo—you-"

Poor thing couldn't even form a full sentence. I giggled and lowered my arms. I'm...kind of glad I chose my cute bra for today. He was scrambling, trying to get out of the tent but his foot was all wrapped up in the blanket now and in his panic he was just trapping himself further.

"Sora, relax, I don't care if you look."

It took him a moment to fully process what I had just said.

"...what?" He stopped his war against the blanket and stared uncomfortably at his feet.

"I said, I don't mind if you watch me change."

"But, uh..." I could tell he was having a lot of conflicting thoughts racing through his head right now. He quickly flicked his eyes over in my direction before firmly twisting to stare at the side of the tent.

"It's okay."

His eyes flicked over really quickly again. "That feels...k-kinda rude."

I giggled again. He was trying _really_ hard not to look. He was holding his head in his hands, rocking a little bit. Geez, I feel pretty bad, now. I didn't want to torture the poor guy.

"Rule 5? About clothes? I'm in charge, remember? What if I give you super special permission?"

"Y...yeah? Really?" I couldn't help but smile at how hopeful his voice sounded.

"Really, really. Special boyfriend permission for you only."

I saw his face brighten up, but he quickly smacked his cheeks and tried to dim his smile a bit before he let himself look over in my direction. His face, tinted red, was filled with such pure elation it was almost making me a little bit self conscious.

"It's just a bra, silly. It's basically like a swimsuit-"

He shook his head, his eyes sparkling. "No, it's not that. I just...I'm really happy."

"I can see that." I pulled my new tank top over my head and adjusted it properly, turning to look back at him. I expected him to look a bit disappointed now that my shirt was back on again, but to my surprise he was still sitting there just as content as before. With that contagious smile of his…

"What are you so happy about, then?"

"I dunno. I was just thinking...you must trust me a lot to be okay with that, so...I'm happy."

Aw...he's so sappy. But I love it every time.

"Hey, come over here." I waved him closer to me and he shuffled over. Once he was adjusted I tapped him on the nose. "Now close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to."

He tilted his head slowly, unsure of what I was planning. "Okay..." He shrugged and smiled at me one more time quickly before closing his eyes.

I took a deep breath. I wasn't quite sure why I felt like this was a good idea right now, but it just popped into my head and I couldn't really think of a reason _not_ to. In fact...I kind of really wanted to. At least, judging by how much my heart was racing. I swallowed a bit.

I pulled my shirt back off over my head and took another steadying breath before reaching out and grabbing his hands in mine. He shifted a little, still clearly not knowing what was going on.

"Don't be too loud, okay?"

"...loud? About what?" He lowered his voice, his eyes still closed.

I moved his hands over towards me and set them gently against my chest. His face twisted a little bit in confusion as he tried to figure out what he was touching.

I leaned in a bit closer, keeping his hands held against my chest with my own. Judging by the slight color on his cheeks, I think he was starting to get an idea where they were now.

"Okay, open."

His face immediately flushed and he nearly yelled, but quickly clamped his mouth down to stay quiet. His hands started shaking beneath mine, but I didn't let go.

He breathed in and out a few times in rapid succession and then grinned at me. "I'm...this is..."

I think the shock was starting to be replaced now with sheer, childish glee. I released my hands and he looked up at me a bit unsure if he should take his away as well.

I giggled and made sure to clarify my intentions with him. "You have special permission to touch them, too."

Smiling ear to ear, he immediately and intently focused on his hands. He seemed almost afraid to press down.

"You won't hurt me."

He nodded and pushed in a little bit with his palms and fingers, his eyes widening, watching their movement. "Wow...this is so _awesome_!"

I hushed him hastily, worried he might wake the others. He winced and apologized softly, returning his attention back to his hands again.

"It's...different than I thought it would be."

"Is it?"

"Yeah, but it's totally better. How do you not sit around and play with these all day?"

I laughed out of sheer surprise at the somewhat juvenile nature of his question. "They seem that fun to you? I guess I'm just used to them."

"But it's so jiggly and-" He noticed his voice getting louder and quickly corrected himself. "...soft and stuff, it feels like they're made out of pudding."

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but they're not pudding."

He contemplated something, reddened again and cleared his throat a little. I...think I have an idea what was just going through that head of his. I narrowed my eyes at him sarcastically.

"No, I don't think they'll taste like pudding, either. If that's what you were thinking of asking."

I definitely caught him. His face made that pretty clear.

He still looked pretty flushed though, maybe there is something else he was considering now.

"C-can...c-could I..."

"Hmm?" I'm not quite sure what he's trying to ask this time.

He bit his lip then leaned over to whisper his request in my ear.

 _What!?_

I felt my own face burn red and I blinked back at him, my mouth agape.

"S-sorry...I shouldn't have asked..."

"N-no, Sora, it's okay I just...I wasn't expecting..."

"I'm sorry..."

I giggled and smiled back at him. Well, why not.

"Go ahead."

He paused for a moment so I leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss to assure him I was serious. He smiled back at me and focused his attention back down at his hands. It was almost funny how serious he looked. His fingers traced down along the edges of my bra and he squeezed them gently a few times before lowering his face to my neck. He nuzzled up against me, kissing me softly. I shivered and closed my eyes, realizing that this was almost the same place I had been forcibly kissed yesterday. However, the difference between the two of them was absolutely palpable. Yesterday I had been filled with such dread, that horrid growling making me fear every thought and intention that he was contemplating for me.

When I heard Sora's voice utter something vaguely similar, it was so much softer, warmer, and I knew it was because he was so positively overflowing with good feelings a few just unintentionally slipped out now and again in the form of sound. It made me feel loved and safe.

He continued kissing down my skin, pausing slightly when he reached my collar bones. His hair tickled a little as it brushed under my chin and I giggled. I think my voice prompted him to continue and he leaned closer, moving his face further down until he reached this special previously inaccessible area to him. His lips trembled a little as he lined my chest with really gentle nudges. He paused a bit when he found my heartbeat, smiling into my skin. No doubt he could feel how much my heart was racing. I knew he liked resting his head on my chest to listen, but I suppose this was the first time he had been able to do it straight against me without a shirt in the way. He breathed out slowly and gave this space an extra long kiss before changing direction to his current goal.

He shifted his hands slightly out of the way and slowly kissed at the small parts of exposed skin he could reach around the fabric. Warmth rushed up to my head and I felt my breath quicken slightly. He kissed me a few more times before glancing back up at me.

"Nope, not like pudding at all."

I brushed my hand through his hair, pulling at a few of his spikes playfully. "Disappointed?"

"No way! This is..."

I could tell he was struggling to search for any word better than his typical "awesome" but was having some trouble. I waited for him patiently.

"This is _better_ than awesome."

I could only laugh and flick my fingers at his hair again, enjoying its bounce.

"Now, I don't mean to rush you, but I did still intend to cook breakfast today for everyone. Think you can wrap up in a little bit?"

He pursed his lips, obviously frustrated. "I guess so, just...gimme a few more minutes, at least."

I nodded and his joy re-materialized. He quickly returned to showering me with kisses everywhere he could reach.

Suddenly, he brushed over one part of me and I inhaled sharply with surprise as a wave of warm shivers traveled up my spine. Startled, he immediately released me and pushed himself back, apologizing profusely.

"D-did I hurt you?"

I felt breathless for a moment and just shook my head at him. "N-no, not at all. It was...it felt..."

What _was_ that? I could feel my heart, racing even faster now, thumping in my ears. It was embarrassing, and I almost didn't want to admit it, but I really wanted him to do it again. His eyes widened and he leaned forward, examining me closely.

"Wait...did you _like_ that?"

I didn't even have to answer; he could see it on my face. He immediately grinned and dove back in.

It didn't take him long to find that spot again. Every touch sent another one of those wonderful trembling rushes up my body. Each one making me gasp for breath and I nearly tipped over. He caught me by placing his left hand against the small of my back and lifting me towards him. My hands fumbled for something to grab onto and wrapped around his head. I could feel him practically beaming against me. Or at least I just somehow knew he was.

I've never felt something like this before and it was starting to really get to me. With his mouth and his right hand, he somehow managed to find a place equally as nice on both sides of me. The feelings only intensified to the point it almost became unbearable and I squirmed under his grasp.

"S-Sora, it's..."

He pushed forward against me and a rattle of a moan suddenly slipped out of my throat. I blushed, shocked at myself. He pulled back, his face also a little red. He cleared his throat a little, trying really hard not to smile up at me.

"Should I...stop?" His eyes were unsure, still catching glances down at my chest.

I bit my lower lip and wasn't sure how to answer. "I...I don't know."

He twiddled his fingers a little along the straps of my bra and looked like he was debating asking me something. The one hand he had on my back toyed a little bit with the clasp behind me and he furrowed his brow.

"Um...what if I..."

Obviously he wanted to take it off and wasn't quite sure how to ask for permission. A huge part of me _really_ wanted him to. After all, if it felt this good now I bet him touching my skin directly would be even nicer. But at the same time, I felt like if he did that I might not be able to tell him to stop at all. Things had already progressed so unexpectedly quickly this morning I felt like I needed to slow it back down.

I gave him a gentle kiss just above his lips. "Maybe it would be best to stop for now..."

He took a deep breath, obviously a bit sad but he seemed to understand. I honestly wasn't expecting it to feel that... _good_. Maybe I should have, considering I how much love it when he kisses me along my neck. But still...that was something _very_ different. And now I could tell he was practically bouncing off the walls with energy after all his new discoveries. If I hadn't inflated his ego before, now I had certainly done it...

I lifted his reluctant hands off of me and started putting my shirt back on. He frowned for a moment.

"Can I do that again soon?"

I grinned. "We'll see."

"Please?"

"...we'll see."

"You liked it too, right? You were _definitely_ happy. In fact, I think maybe you were enjoying it more than me."

I hummed noncommittally to tease him. He tried pouting, but his smile got in the way. "So...what is the rule about this, then?"

"Anything you just did is fine so long as we have privacy. Oh, and...my bra stays on for now."

"Right!" He saluted with a cheery grin.

"Besides, I need to test the same out on you sometime."

He frowned a bit, glancing down at his own chest. "But...mine are really boring and stupid."

I laughed. "Does that mean I'm not allowed to?"

"No-I mean—yes? Uh, wait a second..." He shook his head. "I'm a bit mixed up but what I mean is if you want to do something like that, that's fine by me. Same rules apply, I guess. Minus the...bra...thing. Since I don't have one."

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He is such a goof.

But now it was time to get the day started.

"Well! I volunteered to make breakfast for everyone so off I go."

I started to stand, but Sora quickly reached out and pulled me into a kiss before I could escape him. His lips pulled at mine as he sank into me eagerly.

"Sora, are you trying to stop me?"

He hummed, not giving me a direct answer, instead trying to just kiss me more. I laughed and gave him a light shove.

"There will be time later for this, you know."

"No..." He shook his head childishly and continued, more passionate and far more intense than usual.

I really wanted to just stay here with him as well. In fact, I would be perfectly content just staying in this tent here with him all day, but there were some responsibilities to be done.

"Did you want to come help me?"

"What are you making?"

"Just some easy hotcakes. I even brought a few chocolate chips for-"

He cheered and I had to hush him again, hoping he wouldn't wake anyone up. After apologizing sheepishly again, he pounced on me one last time.

His kisses were always so purely full of joy I loved every moment of them. Maybe because he was just so unafraid to express himself once he had the window the do it. I squeezed his hand and he pulled away slowly, clearly savoring it.

"Hotcake time?"

I nodded to him, ruffling his hair and heading out towards the morning light. He stood up to follow me, but abruptly stumbled and dropped back down to the ground, his face a little red.

"Uh...I'll just be a second..." He sighed a bit in embarrassment. Despite still smiling, I rolled my eyes at him. Guy problems, I assume…

I took a step outside and nearly tripped over Riku, who was slumped against the tree just outside our tent, sleeping. Of course Riku would be keeping watch in his own way out here, too. I was about to rouse him, but he clearly looked like he needed the rest. It looked like Sora had thrown a blanket on him when he came out to light the campfire, because it was draped so awkwardly and slightly crooked over him I doubt he did it himself.

It was rare to catch him sleeping. Just like Sora, he probably stayed awake as long as possible until he crashed. I stood in the morning light, stretching and adjusting my eyes until I saw Sora coming out of the tent finally, stretching with a yawn. Losing sleep like that... Seriously, these two...

I pointed Riku out and lowered my voice. "Maybe you could go bring him into our tent so he can get some better sleep?"

Sora agreed, gently shaking our friend by the shoulder. He jerked awake with a gasp and groaned, falling backwards against the tree, rubbing at his eyes.

"Morning, _grumblebee_." Sora chuckled at him as Riku shoved a sleepy hand out in retaliation.

"Ugh, its morning, huh?"

Sora caught his hand and used it to help him up to his feet, pulling him back towards the tent. "Why don't you go lay down for a bit. I can keep an eye on things okay."

Riku barely resisted, obviously still needing the rest.

I whispered out to Sora before he got too far. "If you still need some rest too that's okay."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll be fine. This morning, uh...woke me up enough."

Riku mumbled something I couldn't hear and Sora laughed at it, pulling him under the tent flap.

I then started rummaging around for the supplies to start cooking. After a few minutes Sora came snuggling up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin down on the top of my head. I giggled and moved my hips a little back and forth, wobbling him with me to the beat as I started singing about the shark that lost his toothbrush. Sora rocked back and forth with me, easily remembering the words to that song from the elementary school play.

I finished the batter and gestured over to the frying pan nearby. "Can you be a sweetheart and set that over the fire for me?"

"Yep!" He grabbed the pan and jogged to go put it on the small cooking ledge over the fire, slowing for a moment to wave over to the left. "Good morning!"

I looked up to see Roxas approaching us with a huge yawn. "You two are ridiculous. Musicals in the morning? It's sickeningly sweet. Besides, he's usually the last to sleep in. I'm surprised to see him so chipper..." He gestured over to Sora with his thumb and yawned again.

While I had a feeling I knew why Sora was extra bouncy, I definitely wasn't going to confess to anything. "Roxas, you sleep okay?"

He gave me a wave, still yawning. "Yeah, not too bad. Are you making breakfast?"

"Mm. Hotcakes okay?"

He nodded eagerly, and jumped up on one of the little folding stools by the table, scanning some of the bags I had laid out. "Ooh! Are those toppings? The few times I got hotcakes before they were always just plain."

I pushed the bag of goodies over towards him to riffle through and he started scrambling through like a small child unwrapping a Christmas present. I guess those two were similar in a lot of little ways. "Could you really put milk tea powder in a hotcake?"

"Why not?"

"...and coconut flakes!?"

Sora came back over to the table, glancing through the bag as well. "You mean you've never had one with chocolate chips before?"

"No..."

Sora gasped and bounced back and forth. "You _need_ to. It's the only way to eat them for sure."

"I prefer mine with blueberries." Aqua gracefully sat down at the table next to me.

I showed her the box of teas that I had brought with me. "Did you want to try some earl grey powder in it, too?"

She considered it for a moment but ultimately shook her head. "I'll pass. I'd much rather drink my tea, I think. Speaking of that, though, I'll go get the teapot ready."

I pointed out its location to her and went over to the hot pan to start the cooking. Still no sign of Xion, Lea or Namine yet. Or...Ven and Terra. I wondered if they managed to make it back last night after I fell asleep, but it seemed a bit hard to bring up right now.

Riku would probably be alseep for some time, but I can always set his food aside for when he gets up. He's always liked them super plain with just the tiniest amount of green tea powder mixed in.

"Can you make a chocolate one first?" Sora bounced over and stared into the batter bowl eagerly.

I pushed his nose away from the raw food. "Greedy, aren't you?"

"Not for me! I just wanted Roxas to be able to try it right away!"

I smiled and reached for the bag of chocolate. "Alright, let's give him one with a big chocolate smile, and...anything else?" I questioned him.

"Can I try it with the coconut, too? Does that go together?"

"Sure." I gave his little hotcake face some wispy hair with the coconut shavings.

"By the way, Kairi, how is your foot today? Any better?" Aqua leaned over to check up on my leg.

"To be honest, I didn't even think about it. I guess it's all patched up."

Roxas sighed and prodded at the table with a fork. "So...about that stuff yesterday..."

I saw Sora stiffen a little bit and I knew it definitely wasn't the right time to talk about this. I had a lot I wanted to talk to Ven about, privately, but I still wasn't sure if he was here.

"Did...Ven and Terra not make it back yet?"

Aqua sighed and popped a few stray blueberries into her mouth. "No...and if they aren't back soon I'm going out to look for them. But maybe we should at least have a nice breakfast before getting too concerned, okay?"

I think she noticed my apprehension and I appreciated her nipping things in the bud.

"Hey, Kairi...Sora didn't get too fresh with you last night, did he?" Lea half-yawned, approaching the breakfast table, somehow still able to tease me this early in the morning.

"No, of course not."

Roxas glanced between the two of us, probably noticing Sora's obvious attempts to avoid eye contact. "What do you mean?"

Lea started fiddling with the coffee machine. "Oh, Sora slept in her tent last night."

Roxas nearly spit out his tea. "What!?"

Sora stopped prodding the fire uselessly with a stick and threw his hands into the air. "I-I didn't do anyth-"

"Yeah, sure you didn't buddy." Lea snickered, selecting a coffee mug from our eclectic collection.

"I really didn't! I carried her back but after I tucked her in she..." He glanced hesitantly over to me and sighed. "She made this really sad whimpering sound like she was having a bad dream and I was just worried and wanted to be there if she woke up scared or something..."

Aqua relaxed and patted him softly on the arm, offering him a cup of tea. "I see...I'm surprised to see you looking so awake then. You must have been up half the night."

"I'm fine..." Sora mumbled into the teacup, clearly embarrassed.

Aqua hummed a bit to herself then smiled, but kept silent.

I feel really guilty for making him feel like he had to do that. Especially because I don't remember any particularly bad dreams. Maybe he chased them away for me.

Lea tipped his coffee mug in Sora's direction. "Well, no matter what you say, now I can finally claim you two have slept together."

"Man, he's got you!" Roxas snorted at the look on Sora's face and I felt a bit bad.

"Lea, keep this up and I won't make you anything." I waved my spatula in his direction and he immediately shut his mouth. "If he was up all night watching me he wasn't exactly _sleeping_ , was he? After all, what he did was incredibly sweet. "

Xion approached from behind, tackling Sora and shoving his hood up over his head. "Isn't that just like him."

He laughed a little hesitantly and struggled his way out of his hood and her grasp. "I can't tell if that's a good thing or not..."

I waited for him to break free and handed him his breakfast plate. "It is, at least I think so."

And there's that excited smile of his that tells me today is _definitely_ going to his head.

I ruffled his hair; what a silly bum. But I wouldn't trade him for anything.


	19. Sora: Always

It wasn't a far distance, but this was a really long walk. I reached out and gently nudged Kairi's hand. She wordlessly wrapped her fingers around mine, and I could tell she was still distracted. I think all three of us were pondering about the mess we were getting ourselves into, in our own ways.

All Terra had been able to tell us was that Ven had reapplied the seal around his other half just to be safe, but it seemed like he might still somehow have access to some dark abilities or...something. I didn't really understand it too well. But I guess whatever magic he was doing was definitely not coming from him, but from other source. A source Ven had never seen before and had no idea who could have given it to him.

Now Vanitas was steadfastly refusing to leave until Kairi and I came up to talk to him at the mountain lookout point. I mean, I know Ven is going to do his best to keep him from doing anything weird, but...with that weird power he somehow is able to access, who knows what this is going to be like.

He had also said not to bring Riku, or anyone else but myself but, uh...well...I glanced over at my friend. Riku was sternly glaring at the road up ahead, not saying a word. Yeah, there was no way he wasn't going to come along. Everyone else was going to be waiting at the bottom of the trail, just in case he tried to run off from us, or if things got bad and we had to send up a help signal.

...I really hope it doesn't come to that.

I also still don't really get what Kairi was trying to tell me on the way over here. That he stole my emotions or something? I don't really know how you can even steal something like that...besides, I still think I can feel things. Though, if it was something I can't feel any more maybe that's why I can't feel it? I'm so confused...

But if she says that talking things out with him will stop him from trying to sneak up on her all the time, I'll do it. As hard as it's going to be, I'm not going to give up before I've started. Though...convincing him to open up isn't going to be very fun.

We approached the small rest house just before the outlook point, and it looked so dark and lonely. Despite it still being fairly early morning, the shadows from the trees and the other mountains behind us made it feel like dusk was already approaching. It didn't help that the mountainside was so eerily quiet. No birds, no insects, nothing. Like the sound had been sucked clean away from everything.

Ven was sitting grimly on one of the small benches just outside the front door of the rest house. He stood up slowly when he saw us, eyeing Riku in particular.

"Yeah...figured you'd be coming too. I told him as much."

Riku gave him a brief head bob back, his eyes shifting a bit to the left towards the viewpoint clearing. "What right does he have to give demands, anyway?"

Ven sighed so heavily his shoulders sagged. "He doesn't, really...but I think the idea was if you didn't meet with him, he would just keep stalking Kairi forever."

I felt Kairi squeeze my hand a little tighter.

"Is he really able to..."

I got a nod in response, my question obviously anticipated. "Yeah, I put a seal on him so his Keyblade is locked, but...that weird dark power of his...I have no idea where it came from. And because of the seal it means I can't really do anything else since I'm locked as well."

So, basically, Vanitas is a dirty rotten cheater.

Riku still seemed uneasy, casting side glances back at Kairi, and I knew what he was thinking. It really felt wrong to let her just waltz right up to him, knowing she was his target for whatever reason. But I knew that she would never be content sitting back while we sort this out for her. And she certainly had the fire inside of her to fight back should anything happen. It doesn't make me any less worried, but I know there isn't anything I can really say against it. I saw Riku open his mouth and winced. Uh-oh...

"Do you think you could watch Kairi for us?"

"I'm not staying here!" Yeah...that was really not a smart thing to say, Riku. She looks _mad_.

Ven scratched the back of his head. "Honestly...she would be better off with you two. When I say I can't do anything...I really can't. Sealed both our Keyblades, magic, everything. It's all or nothing with us."

"And I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She glared so hard in his direction he was forced to take a step backwards and apologize.

It just wouldn't work to convince her to stay behind any more. At least, not too far behind. Maybe just a bit is okay?

"Kairi, um...do you think maybe you could still stand behind us, though? When we go up there? Just in case..."

She released my hand and crossed her arms. Uhh-oh.

"Fine, I suppose. But I'm fighting too, if it comes to that."

Oh. Phew. She doesn't look too upset about me asking.

"Let's hope it doesn't." Riku started towards the trail. "Sora, it goes without saying what you need to do."

"Mm..." I followed him, knowing that he was relying on me to help keep her safe. Kairi fell behind me and we plodded up the small trail towards the outlook. After passing a curve in the trees, I saw Riku tense and knew he had spotted him. I moved up next to him, and found Vanitas leaning against one of the wooden posts that marked the clearing.

"Gang's all here, I see." He glared disdainfully over in Riku's direction for a moment before seeking Kairi out behind me. "I guess your boyfriend is a little too pathetic to face me on his own, then."

I stared directly into his eyes, refusing to let his pettiness intimidate me. "I'm not so insecure that I would put any sort of pride over doing what keeps her safe."

...And I suppose also because Riku would have been far too stubborn to stay behind even if I hadn't wanted him here. But that sounds _way_ less cool.

He scoffed at me. "So, if I told you I'll leave Kairi alone if you kiss my feet, you'd do it?"

"If I knew you'd keep your promise, then, yeah." Maybe that made me a loser; I don't know. But Kairi was more important than whatever he thought of me.

"You really are pathetic." He turned to walk up to the clearing, I assume wanting us to follow. Kairi gave my arm a subtle squeeze and all of us went up together.

I hadn't been up to this lookout spot in a long time. It looked like there had been some recent effort to clean it up for potential tourists, but half of the signs were so dirty they were illegible.

"Such a sleepy town. It's strange to think about all that could be seething, twisting unseen underneath its calm appearance." He reached his arm out over the town and clenched his fist. "So much pain. So much heartbreak. So much disappointment."

"Get to the point, what is this about?" Riku snapped, saying exactly what I wanted to, in harsher words.

Vanitas continued to stare out at the expanse of the town. Most of it was also still under the early morning shadow of the mountain. "You of all people should understand, Riku."

"Sorry, you'll have to fill me in."

"I'm talking about jealousy." He turned, eyes locking with my friend. "Jealousy is such a _horrible_ emotion. But it can be so powerful in a way...it can drive people to do very extraordinary things. Wasn't that the source of your darkness?"

Riku said nothing, and I could tell that whatever attempt Vanitas was doing to rile him up wasn't working in the slightest. If he thinks manipulating my friend is going to be that easy he's got another think coming.

However, rather than looking upset that his smack talk wasn't working, I noticed a particularly smug smile spreading across his face. What was there to even smile about at a time like this? He definitely couldn't use any of his powers, Ven's seal was still holding really strong. But I could feel it rising around me. Darkness, hatred, lingering somewhere nearby.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flutter of some long white fabric and I turned to see...Ophelia? Why was she…? Before I could say anything, she started stomping towards me determinedly.

"Sora! I have something for you!"

"This isn't..." I trailed off and glanced over at Riku who was looking incredibly confused. Oh...right, I guess he's never met Ophelia before so he probably has no idea who she is.

This really wasn't the best time but I mean...what am I going to do? Tell her to just leave?

"Listen...here isn't really a safe place right n-"

"Oh, I know." She sounded so...direct, yet...calm. It seemed every time I met this girl she had such a confused sort of energy around her. As she closed the gap between us, I saw her face twist into a really horrifying sneer. Her pace quickened, determined.

Before I could ask her anything else, I heard Kairi desperately shouting my name. She came flying out from nowhere, shoving Ophelia down. A pair of trimming shears clattered across the ground. I jumped back away from them as they barely missed spinning into my shoes.

"Wha…?" Where did those—was Ophelia holding...?

Ophelia tried scrambling to her feet but Kairi grabbed her arm and yanked her back away from me. Riku pounced on her as well, holding both of her upper arms from behind.

"No! No, no! I have to—I need to—Let me go!" She tried kicking this time, but Riku still held her steady. "Let me go! You're hurting me!"

Kairi wedged herself in front of me, shaking her head furiously. "Ophelia, you're not yourself! What were you trying to do with those shears!? You were trying to hurt Sora, weren't you!"

Ophelia just shrieked, stamping her feet furiously, one of them landing right on Riku's foot and I saw him wince, but he doubled down, shouting at her to stop.

"...is that true?" I tried approaching her, but this only seemed to infuriate our classmate even more.

"You need to hurt! You need to understand how much I..." Her struggling lessened and she sagged, her anger breaking down into heaving sobs.

I felt a wave of guilt, but more importantly, I felt like more than anything she desperately needed help. Though, I have no idea if she would even listen to me, but I had to try something.

"Ophelia...I'm sorry. If I had known you were hurting this badly I-"

"Shut up!" She screeched, digging her heels into the dirt.

"Please...can't we talk about this?"

"What could you possibly say? I don't want your apologies, I don't want your pity! You rejected me and it's not fair! I'm going to make you...make you feel the way I do..."

"You were going to attack him, just because of a rejection? You're incredibly short sighted."

"Riku!" Kairi scolded him sharply, but he steadfastly refused to retract anything.

"I'm not going to entertain stupidity."

Ophelia half twisted around, her wrathful face directed at my friend. "I don't care what you think! What could you possibly know!?"

I tried reaching out to her again. "Ophelia, I'm sor-"

"If you are going to apologize, apologize for _that_!" She jerked her head towards Kairi, nearly shrieking again. "Apologize for being with her and not me!"

"I..." I saw Kairi's arm trembling a bit, and it seemed like she was speechless about the whole thing. I shook my head.

"I can't apologize for my heart feeling the way it does. I didn't choose for it to feel that way, and I don't regret that choice, only that you had to suffer so much because of it."

"That's not good enough!"

Dark smoky arms that looked like plant vines shot out from her body. I saw one crash hard into Riku's shoulder and he twisted to the side. Another charged straight towards Kairi. I didn't really have time to think, so I just grabbed her up in my arms and flung myself down to the ground to avoid it. I rolled just before hitting the dirt so I would bare the brunt of the fall. Kairi scrambled to her feet, offering me a hand to pull myself back up.

"What _is_ this stuff!?"

From all around us, like the eruption of a brush fire, the entire lookout point was suddenly engulfed in these long, twisting vines that surrounded us in a living, dark cage. I guess that might make sending a help signal to anyone a little difficult. I decided to ignore that for right now.

"Tch..." Riku swatted at one near him. "It's pure negativity turned into darkness."

More dark vines were flying towards us. I sprang up as fast as I could, bashing one to the side with my blade, the other deflected with Kairi's magic. I saw Riku was fending off several of them himself, trying to circle his way back towards us after having been pushed towards the edge of the lookout point.

I could hear Vanitas laughing behind it all. "Now, what are you going to do? Fight her?"

Despite having to push back the onslaught of this darkness, I focused on Ophelia's face. She had this trembling, sorrowful look in her eyes—not unrelenting anger or hate. There was definitely a confused and scared girl in there. Maybe Vanitas had done something to channel dark energy through her to bypass the seal? I think Riku had the same idea as me because he started charging straight towards Vanitas, swiping at him.

"No, we just need to take you out instead!"

He dodged away from the strikes, still smiling. "Oh, it's not me. That darkness is all hers. I might have...pushed her in the right direction to unlock it, but..."

"How could you…? Give her back!" Kairi batted away another one of the smoky arms.

They held a powerful force of energy, but it was obvious that Ophelia hadn't quite understood how to control them. Rather than an intelligent attack, they were sort of just flailing around in our direction like a crazy octopus.

Vanitas stepped away from Riku who had stopped his advance. "Oh, _so_ sorry, but it's out of my hands now. I'm _sealed_ , remember?" He threw up his hands and waved them sarcastically at us and I grimaced. Why was he so horrible sometimes? Though I'm sure if Ophelia lent that darkness to Vanitas, who could properly control it...

He leaned back against the post again, smirking. "I warned you about how powerful jealousy can be. It was such a nice opportunity. And I guess my appearance made my words especially convincing to her...how lucky for me."

I called out to our classmate again, dodging closer to her so I could try to put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what he told you, but he's only using you. You're sad and you're hurt but I know you aren't a bad person like this!"

The dark arms trembled and smacked me back, one thrashing me so hard against my shoulder that it knocked me off balance. Kairi came up right behind me, holding up a barrier around the two of us.

"Deep down is this really what you want!?" I tried again, but Ophelia simply was refusing to listen.

She shook her head and shrieked again. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up! I'm going to cause you pain one way or the other!"

Her face twisted back to Vanitas and she reached over to him. Some of the darkness around her shot over towards him and he grinned in a sickening...horrible way. That certainly solved the question of where his dark powers came from. Vanitas immediately retaliated out at Riku, but before I could run to help, Ophelia was already sending her haphazard smoke vines back at me.

Kairi was trying to get closer, but every time she tried, Ophelia just targeted her mercilessly. I saw one vine rear back like a snake, ready to strike down at her and I pulled her out the way. Just before it struck us the snake-like vine opened up at the front and shot a hazy mist into our faces.

What the...

It smelled a bit like rotten honey. Or at least what I assumed that would smell like. I gagged and coughed, blowing the smoke away from us with a wind spell. I turned to check on Riku but my whole body suddenly felt extremely...heavy. Riku was...there were two...of him? Two Rikus?

Kairi was stumbling a bit herself, and both of us realized that this shaking in our vision wasn't from a sudden earthquake. It must be some kind of poison. Kairi seemed to be suffering from it worse than me, she couldn't get herself up off the ground. The ground which, according to my vision right now, was swimming about at eye level. I cast a curative spell on her as fast as I could, knowing that this condition was only going to make things worse. It seemed to work, because I saw her leap to her feet and try to ready the same for me.

My vision still blurry, arms heavy, but before I felt the relief of a cure, something sharp wrapped itself around my ankle and pulled me up into the air. Upside down, with everything wobbling made me feel even more sick than I had been before. I closed my eyes, rather than trying to focus on the double, even triple images dancing before me. I couldn't see anything, just a clouded, heavy haze.

I couldn't really see what was dangling me over the ground, but I could certainly feel it. I lashed out, hearing my friends doing their best to fight off more of the vines to help me down. My Keyblade must have cut through something, because I heard a snap and I started to drop down some unknown distance towards the ground that was shivering and shifting beneath me.

I landed and slid against something weirdly...sticky. I tried standing up but my foot slipped out beneath me and my face smacked into what felt like a soft fleshy wall. What _is_ this thing? I tried a different direction but felt the same resistance there as well. There was a strange gurgle sound and a blast of sweet syrupy scented water hit my face, knocking me down again. Some of the stuff went up my nose and I tried to cough it out. My throat burned, like the water was laced with pure lemon juice or something.

At least my eyes started to refocus slightly, but that didn't help me see much better. I was completely surrounded by some bizarre, semi-transparent rubbery orange wall that bounced underneath my hand when I tried pushing against it. I could vaguely see a Kairi shaped blob on the other side of one wall, trying to cast magic at it, but everything she was trying to do was just bouncing back off at her. She kept disappearing, and I heard her fighting off more of those vines that kept trying to disturb her attempts to break me out of here. Riku was probably still struggling to break away from Vanitas who seemed to be specifically doing his best to keep him away from helping the two of us. But I couldn't be sure, I couldn't see him at all from here.

I'm not sure what this thing is, but I'm not going to just sit around in it while my friends are fighting for me. There was another gurgling sound, and I backed away from it. This time, a stream of some vaguely floral scented water started pouring down to my feet. It continued without stopping for a while so I decided to ignore it for now.

I tried whacking the wall, but every attempt I made to hit it left absolutely no mark, and only seemed to squeeze more of that weird floral water out over me. It just kept pouring out of the wall. I tried magic as well, but it was not only ineffective, it sent another gush of water blasting against me. The more I attacked, the more the sickeningly sweet water just kept coming. And, given this tiny space, that wasn't exactly ideal.

I sloshed through the rapidly rising water and tried to call out to Kairi on the other side.

"What is this thing!?"

She dodged past several strikes and raced back to where I was. "Sora, is that you!? Are you okay!?"

I stared down at the water pooling down around my waist. The rate only increasing in speed. "Uh...that depends..."

"What do you mean it depends?" She sounded terrified and I felt a little bad for being vague.

"Where am I?"

"You were swallowed by some kind of...giant plant."

"Wha...?" A plant? ...Swallowed!? Now I really want to get out of here.

Kairi had to move past an attack but quickly came back to the side of the plant to talk to me. "Sora, what did you mean it depends!?"

"I don't know, this thing is...it's filling up with water or something."

I heard her mumble back what I had just said as if she was trying to comprehend it. "How much time do you have?"

Something about her question filled me with a little dread. "Not long. Every time I attack it, it fills up faster."

"Okay, don't worry, I'll-" I heard her shriek and her voice disappeared. Panicked, I smashed my hand against the stupid wall, shouting for her, but she didn't answer back. The walls were sort of transparent, but not nearly enough for me to see what was happening outside.

I didn't care that my beating against this wall was only making the water rise up to my chest now. I needed to get out and help her.

Right. Time to break out the big guns.

And that plant definitely didn't like them. Not one bit.

I heard it squeal as I blasted into the side of it. The water inside immediately began spilling out to the ground, relieving a little bit of the imminent dread I was feeling earlier. I raced for the hole, but before I could pull myself out to freedom, some tiny feelers snagged my wrists and right ankle, smacking me back against the far wall. I tried ripping my arms free, but something else pungent squirted in my face and I felt weak again. I fought against the heaviness in my eyelids. I can't...give up. Not now...

At least with the hole in the side of the flower the rising water wasn't going to be a problem anymore.

Which also meant there was no reason I couldn't beat this thing silly.

My hands might have been somewhat trapped against the wall, but that didn't stop me from roasting it with a good spell or two. The plant rattled back and forth. I hope I'm giving you one bad stomach ache, bud.

Rather than divert the stream of water to my feet, it decided to just blast it right in my face. I spluttered, tilting my head away to try and get a breath of fresh air underneath the hose of liquid. Ugh, this stuff stinks. It's like when a girl puts on way too much perfume at once. It tastes even worse, too.

I coughed and spit out as much as I could, as I continued the onslaught of my attack. I finally managed to burn a hole through the back of the plant and I flopped out onto the ground, gasping for fresh air. The plant shriveled and retreated up into the air. While lying on my back, I watched it ascend up into the sky where it joined a whole network of twisting dark vines that covered the entire sky above us.

It was like we were in a massive cage of thorns that blocked out the sun. I was finally free of that stupid thing. But, more importantly, where were my friends!?

I tried staggering to my feet, my breath feeling a bit more shallow than normal. I must still have some water in my lungs or something. I tried to cough it out, but the heaviness persisted. My vision started to haze, but I searched. Where is...

Kairi! I saw her, but I also saw _him_ , pinning her to the ground, leaning awfully close to her face like he was trying to... I seethed and charged towards him.

"...unfinished business. I wonder how sweet your li-"

I could barely interpret what he was saying to her as I raced up and shoved him as hard as I could. He fell hard, but took me with him. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and suddenly found myself sprawled against the dirt. Had he kicked me? What happened?

I tried to stand up but felt even more unexpected pain pulse down my body and I gasped, clutching my chest. It felt like it was pulsing. My lungs, or maybe my heart, I couldn't tell. What...ugh...what was going _on_?

I fought past the pangs and tried to stand, my whole body shaking. Where was Kairi? Riku? Why was everything so...fuzzy? I think I felt Kairi's hand on my shoulder and she tried to help me stand but my knee just wobbled and I collapsed back down.

"...ra? Wh...sn't...esuna...worki...?"

What? None of that made any...

"..lling...elp...othing...tting...ou..."

What was she trying to say to me? I feel so...so tired...

I felt myself mumbling as I tried to ask her about Riku. But I couldn't even hear myself. I have no idea if she understood, or if she even answered me. I lifted my hazy vision back up, knowing that staring at the dirt wasn't going to help anything. Vanitas was laughing, again.

He's always laughing...but it's always so cruel.

I think he said something about poison. Is it Riku? Is he okay? I struggled to stand again, but got even less far this time, flopping even harder to the ground. For some reason my arms didn't catch me this time, and my face smacked right into the dirt. Why were my arms and legs so numb? I'm so confused...

It feels like when I wake up in the morning after sleeping all funny and my body isn't responding at all. But I'm not giving up yet. I'm not letting him touch her. I couldn't feel my limbs, I couldn't see straight, but if I just ignored all of that, just moved the way it felt like I should, I might be able to still fight.

Riku always said I didn't need eyesight to do it.

I took a shallow, shaky breath and closed my eyes. I don't know how he did it, but I knew that I could almost feel people by their hearts. Reaching out with a web of light instead of my eyes. If we had a connection together I could pull at those strands to figure out who I felt around me.

This wasn't an easy thing to do, and definitely not an easy feeling to describe whenever anyone asks about it. I guess it is a little bit like diving into a pool while also blindfolded and dizzy, trying to find a specific item that someone has tossed in ahead of me without telling me what the item even is. Yeah...sorta like that, I guess? I was searching for something, anything in that warm space that connected our hearts together that I could cling to that would guide me.

I tuned out everything around me, focusing only on what I could feel. I very easily detected a sensation that was sharp, but cool and refreshing, like really crisp mint. It was hovering near me, emitting a very steady warm ember-like glow. That was definitely Riku. I felt pretty relieved that he was okay, but he seemed really distressed right now.

Kairi was also just as easy for me to find. She had a really soothing feeling about her as well—almost like floating in a calm pool of water on a really hot day, the waves lightly drifting me around, surrounding and supporting me. But I had to look beyond their presence, towards anything that seemed different or hostile. I felt a very hollow echoing feeling, close to where Riku was. It reminded me of an empty library during twilight. Very sad, very lonely. I wondered if that was Ophelia. It would be good to keep i mind where she was, but right now I was looking for...

There was a very cold spiky sensation almost like when you touch an ice cube and your finger gets stuck to it for a second. There he was.

I put my plan into action, charging without really feeling the ground, swinging out at him without really seeing. It was all just muscle memory at this point. I could feel Kairi fighting next to me, her aura warm yet troubled. But the longer I focused, the more clear everything became.

I realized I was somehow seeing without my eyes. Hearing without my ears. Moving without really feeling like I was moving at all. Maybe I was seeing it all through Kairi somehow. My connection with her, or her light was filling in the sensory gaps that I couldn't handle right now.

There was still a lot that was foggy, but the clearest thing to me right now was that Vanitas had certainly not been expecting me to put up a fight like this. Riku was somehow dealing with Ophelia behind the two of us, leaving Vanitas open to our teamwork. But other than attacks, I knew we had to reach out to him a different way to get him to stop.

I was leading myself with my heart, after all. If I could only touch him...

Kairi knocked his attack away and I dodged under it, brushing my hand against his chest.

And I added his thread to the web of connecting threads around me.

I knew there was something inside of him that just wanted closure. And like Kairi said: if we could just talk, we could solve all of this.

Speaking across the gap between hearts was a little strange sometimes, but I had grown quite used to these glowing floors in that wide, expansive misty room. Vanitas was staring at me from the other side of that floor, clearly open enough to actually answer my call and speak.

"Why are you even here?" He snarled, still reluctant to let me draw any closer.

"I want to help you."

"Help...me!?" He angrily spun around, glaring out into the misty darkness stretching before him. "You should be only focused on helping yourself."

"I can't do that. I refuse to give up on a friend. And deep down, I know there is a part of you that wants us to be-"

"We can't! Go away..." He sounded far less cold than usual.

"I already said I won't. Sorry, I guess I'm annoying in that way, but I refuse to leave my friends behind."

"You...I'm not your friend! I couldn't be! No one could...I'm too..."

"It's okay to have problems, really! We'll work on them together. Then, in the future we can-"

"There is no future!" He yelled this so loudly, it felt like the room around us was shattering.

He stumbled back, severing the connection between us.

Back on the mountain, he was staying just out of the reach of my hand, not wanting to reestablish the connection. He spat to the side in frustration.

"J-just give up. You're already dead anyway."

Another one of his spiny threats, but I know there was a friend in there, somewhere.

But...something really didn't feel right inside me. My arms were starting to lose feeling too and I worried maybe I wouldn't be able to hold my weapon for much longer. Vanitas sneered at me again.

"See? You're already feeling it. I can tell. Just give up!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw Kairi giving me some support as I swayed on my unstable legs. At least I think I was swaying. It was hard to tell.

"What are you talking about? What did you do to him!?" Kairi was really, really angry. I don't know if I've ever seen her this angry. Though...I suppose I'm not seeing so much as feeling.

"I didn't do anything. It was _her_ plant." He gestured back to where Ophelia and Riku were and crossed his arms, looking quite pleased with himself. "She was targeting him the whole time. First poison, to disorient, then into the trap. Her knowledge about toxicity in nature is really quite charming, in a way. Just the right blend of chemicals..."

Kairi clutched onto me harder and I felt another restorative spell ripple warmly through my body like a breeze blowing through tall grass. But...nothing really felt any better.

"Try all you want to heal him, it's already inside. It's a deadly paralysis. It targets the body first, then the lungs and finally hi-"

"No. No, please no." I think I could tell Kairi was trembling against me, but I couldn't feel it any more.

I knew I heard what he said, but it didn't really make any sense. What was happening to me?

"There has to be a way to cure it! There has to be!" I saw the ground dropping up closer to meet me and realized that Kairi was helping to set me down.

Why was breathing suddenly such a difficult thing to do?

"Oh, there's an antidote. Just one." Vanitas withdrew some sort of vial that he had been wearing as a necklace the entire time and shook its liquid contents at her. "The real question is, what would you do to get it?"

"Anything." Kairi didn't even hesitate.

It's funny. They always teased me about agreeing to things too quickly, but there she goes...

The air felt really thin up here suddenly. Maybe the altitude is too high...or...

Everything felt so...fuzzy again. I think I could hear Riku shouting something, but I have no idea who he was even talking to. I could only really focus on one of my friends at a time. It suddenly felt like it took far too much effort to connect to them. I faltered, and the previous link I had with Kairi snapped, leaving me clueless and dizzy on the ground. I couldn't hear anything, could barely see.

I struggled to open my eyes.

Kairi was collapsed on the ground in front of me, sobs racking her body. I needed to reach out and touch her shoulder, to comfort her, to do something, but my arm was just a weight at my side. I couldn't quite focus on what she was saying, but she had a wonderful, pure light just pouring from her that seemed to illuminate everything around us.

Vanitas was glaring down at her with such a smug expression, but the longer she spoke, the more his expression changed. And his hand on the vial of medicine started to shake. Kairi stood up, her light seeming to fill him, too. I knew if there was anyone who could reach out to him, to pull the light that he had inside back up to the surface it would be her. I saw him glance down at me, but I wasn't really able to move or say anything back.

I think he looked...really sad. Or full of regret. I don't know if I've ever seen him too regretful about anything. He just liked to play things off like he was too cool to make mistakes. But this time he really did seem...

I really think he wanted to help me.

I wish I'd been able to reach out to him before all of this started. He was just always so much more resentful, angry around me than anyone else. I thought I was only making his adjustment worse. I wanted him to be able to make a friend, even if that wasn't me. I had such hope he would be able to. I really think he still can...

Trembling still, Kairi reached for the vial he was holding stiffly in his outstretched hand. Vanitas turned his sorrowful eyes to her. Then he focused back down at the vial.

And he crushed it.

I might have gasped, but my chest was being squeezed so hard by my own body I couldn't move. I watched the liquid dribbling down into the dirt, seeping uselessly into the ground. Kairi scrabbled for it, for just a drop, digging at the sand, but it was already gone.

Everything was slipping away from me. I think I was lying on my back, but it was a bit hard to tell. I couldn't see the sky above me-just those twisting black vines that reminded me of the worst candy ever. Who likes licorice anyway?

My blurry vision was at least able to focus on one thing. One wonderful positive thing. Kairi's face. She was crying harder than I've ever seen her cry before. That made me a little unhappy.

But I was glad I could see her, at least. Rather than just endless shades of blackness.

And I think I finally realized what was happening.

Maybe she really would be the last thing I saw. But...maybe that wasn't so bad.

"Kai...ri..." I recited her name slowly, relishing it's sound as it passed through me. Every last vibration as it was pulled out of me from the depths of my heart.

I really wasn't sure if I would ever be able say her name again, and I never wanted to forget it. However far away of a place I end up.

Her tear-streaked face was still indescribably beautiful, and I smiled up at it, wanting nothing more than to brush them off of her cheeks. But my arm had long since stopped moving now. I felt like I was slowly being encased into a smaller and smaller box, my chest growing tighter, breath weaker.

I couldn't hear what she was saying to me.

I couldn't hear her voice anymore.

How I wished I could.

But...I know.

 _Every end is just a beginning. It's only ever an end if that's where you stop looking._

I couldn't breathe anymore. I knew the little air I have in my lungs now is all I have left. I wish I could tell her, with the few words I have left in me, that I won't leave her behind, not even like this...

I stared up into the deep ocean of her eyes, flooded with tears, her mouth still crying out words I couldn't possibly understand and felt myself sinking down into the depths of those waters, comfortably, quiet. And with the last bit of voice I could manage, I whispered one word.

"Always."

* * *

Death didn't seem so bad, after all. Everyone always seemed so afraid of it, but it kind of stopped hurting after a while. Maybe because I knew at the end of it all, I had always pictured some place warm and full of light. I wasn't expecting a foggy, slightly damp forest. But I suppose it isn't too bad.

I can't really complain anyway, can I? I'm dead.

What a stupid thing to finally do me in. A flower. Made me regret ever trying to study up on those things. Riku's never going to let me live it down when I te...

Oh.

Right.

I suppose it isn't death itself that is the sad part. It's knowing that everyone else is gone away now. Or, I guess...I'm the one who has gone away, haven't I?

And that forest suddenly seemed a lot more lonely than before.

I felt the mist chill my legs, the light ferns of the forest floor rustling into me with a slight breeze. A shadow darted across the trees, but they remained still. There was a soft patch of sunlight raining down between a gap in the leaves, dissipating just a bit of the mist for me to clearly see a small door built into the side of a rather large tree trunk. I wonder where that goes.

Maybe this is like some last thought space for me to reflect on my past or something. Maybe when I open that door I'll get pulled into whatever is waiting for me. Like, a next life or something? Is that what happens?

I dunno...

But what if I don't go through the door? What if I stay here? Could one of my friends rescue me from this place? Could I...go back to them?

I don't really...

I don't want to be here.

Not yet.

Maybe some day I would be ready to walk through that door, proud of what my life had been. But I'm not ready for that yet.

I decided to call out. To see if there was anyone there I could try to bargain with about all of this.

No one answered me, but I almost heard the forest respond in silence and more darting shadows. I set my hand against a nearby tree and felt the wood bristle under my fingertips, like it was alive. Well, I know trees are living things but... _alive_. Like it was the back of a cat or something.

I shrank my hand away and sighed. This place was weird. Certainly not a place I really wanted to stay for very long. But I couldn't help shake the worry that if I walked through that door, I couldn't ever come back.

I decided to try again. "Hello? Listen, I...I don't know if anyone can hear me. Or...if there is even anyone there. But, I..." I felt the trees closing in to me, but I wasn't afraid. What could I possibly be afraid of now, anyway? "I won't leave her behind. I can't. I promised her I would never leave her behind again. And I don't care if I have to sit here all alone for years, decades even. I won't leave until she comes here, too and is beside me again. Even if she's moved on and mostly forgotten about me, even if she spent years falling in love with someone else, none of that matters to me because I'd have one more chance to see her happy. And the longer I have to wait the better! It means she ha-"

Light poured out across the forest, putting it into sharp focus around me. The trees retreated away from me, taking the door with them. I stood there silently, waiting in this new clearing, watched on all sides by the tall trees, leafy ferns, and darting shadows.

"He was right about you." I heard a voice quietly mumble from behind me. I turned to see a girl with two long braids sitting on a large ivy covered stone, her back facing me.

She didn't seem the least bit surprised by this place. Maybe she's waiting here for someone too.

She half turned, and I realized quickly that this wasn't just a random girl. It was Ophelia.

"Ah!-" I felt my voice trail off in surprise. "O-Ophelia? You...you died too?"

I felt a pang of guilt that I couldn't actually help her. But I was also incredibly confused how that could have happened. The last I saw, Riku had been with her. And he wouldn't have...

"No...I'm not dead, Sora. Maybe I should be. But I'm here because I needed to apologize."

In her hands I could see she was fiddling with some sort of flower that I didn't recognize, yanking the petals and flicking them out across the loam. She seemed quite sad, or ashamed, because she returned to her previous position, her back to me. "I thought he was some sort of...magic fairy like in those old picture books...he looked just like you."

"Ophelia, I don't-"

"Wait! I don't deserve your kindness yet."

Drawing her knees up she sobbed quietly to herself. I tried moving closer to her as well, but the forest trembled at me, shadows lashing towards my shoulder. It seemed like whatever guarded this forest didn't want me to touch her.

"I never wanted things to go this far. Not really. This darkness is just so terrible..."

"Ophelia, I forgive you, really. It was a mistake and-"

"I'm going to do what Riku told me."

I paused. "Riku?"

"He told me a lot of things. Trying to convince me to let you go. At least, that's all I thought he was trying to do at first. But when I thought about it...his advice really does make a lot of sense."

"What did he say?"

"He said, it's often difficult to have a measure for the kind of person we are. And often when we face adversity, it shows us things we don't want to see. We need to understand that having weakness or faults doesn't make us less of a person. It just means we now know where we need to improve. The true test of our character is how we act going forwards. Do we correct your mistakes? Turn from them in fear? Or just resign ourselves and give up? The question is not who we were, but what kind of person we want to be."

Just like Riku to say some good advice like that. I'm...really going to miss him. I never really got to say goodbye, either. What was the last thing we had even really talked about? I think I just nodded at him or something meaningless.

"What kind of person do you want to be, Ophelia?"

"I'm not sure. Everyone always teased me when I tried to express myself, so I just decided to be quiet all the time and never say anything. But that only made me unhappy. I think...I think I was drawn to you because you were able to be so free all the time. I spent so long hiding who I was inside I...don't really know who I am."

"Well I know one thing at least. I know you're a good person. And, it's really hard to figure out all that crazy stuff inside sometimes. Just keep moving forward and do what feels right. That's what I try to do." I heard her sniff a bit from over at the rock, and she turned a little to face me again.

"And at the end of the day, I'm sure the real you will come shining through. Meanwhile, if anyone teases you for trying to be yourself, don't let it deter you. If you follow your heart, eventually you'll find friends who will accept you for who you are and won't judge you for it."

She hummed, and fell silent. Maybe it was because taking advice from a dead guy isn't necessarily the best option, huh? Guess Riku wins that point.

"Riku told me that he used to like Kairi, too. But she didn't end up liking him back."

"Yeah..."

"He said he was alright in the end, because he knew Kairi wasn't wrong for following her own heart and making her own decisions. He said, if anything, it let him support the decision she does make because he knows it's what she wants. She's important to him, so he wants her to find happiness. She wouldn't be happy with him and that's that, but he isn't going to let a little temporary unhappy setback prevent him from moving forward with his life."

I really wasn't sure what to say about all of that. I felt my throat clench a little realizing just how much I wish I could have said something to Riku, too. Just to let him know what a great friend he is...was. But he already knows that...

He'd laugh at me getting choked up about it now. Or just tell me, 'hey, I already knew that dummy.'

"She really is the one who is meant to be with you. I can see that now. That look on her face when she was told about what was happening to you, the emotion I could feel pouring out of her when she was begging for your life, that cry when..." I heard Ophelia sniffing again. "I've never heard a cry like that. Tears over a bond so close, so pure, that it's just like the fairy tales..."

She abruptly stood from the rock, sliding herself down into the ferns with a thump. I watched as she approached me, her face determined despite being streaked with tears.

"What were you going to say to her? At the end?"

I thought back to Kairi, who I knew was still out there, probably crying like she said. It hurt.

But she was always so strong. I knew some day she would be okay. Her light was always so brilliant and unwavering it could cut through any darkness. She was so much stronger than people really ever gave her credit for. Unwavering, yet kind.

Maybe this was just me being naive again, or just impulsive to think so, but somehow I always believed we would be...

"I...if I could tell her..." I paused for a moment, just listening to the light whisper of wind rustling through the trees above me. "Kairi has always been..."

Ophelia seemed to be getting a bit fed up with me. "Sora, we don't have much time. Answer simply!"

Time? What does time matter? But I suppose...

"I'm sorry. I've been told that when it comes to her I always manage to overthink everything. I usually just blurt out everything I feel in such a roundabout way I don't know if anything will come across right, and I wanted to tell her so many things. About how I want to be there for her, how I trust her with all my heart, how I want her to live happily. But...if I try to take everything I feel and condense it down into one, really clear answer, she's..."

I hesitated again, but...I realized at the end of all things, it really wasn't that hard to say.

"I love her."

Ophelia's eyes closed, and a little bit more light began to stream down from the treetops. "I see. I figured as much. But I needed to hear it. I needed to know you really would fight for them, instead of just quietly fading into the night. It only confirms that he really was right about you. And I know what I have to do. I'm resolved now."

"...resolved?"

I wonder if that means she is going to be going back to where my friends were. If she wasn't dead like she said, anyway.

"Wait! Before you go!" My mind raced. "First of all, could you tell them that I-"

"Sora. Tell them yourself."

She reached out and stabbed something small and thin into my hand.

"Ow! What is...?" A...thorn? It kinda hurt, and now my hand was pulsing funny. I didn't really expect anything to hurt in a place like this.

I suddenly felt very woozy. That, or the forest was now moving in two directions at once.

"You are what gives her hope. Hope to foster that wonderfully warm light of hers. That light can save a lot of people. And she's out there right now, refusing to give up on you."

"Refuse...to...me?" I teetered, clinging to the side of a nearby tree. Ophelia, meanwhile, was walking over towards that strange door that I had seen before. The strange, glowing door...

I tried to reach out a hand to stop her, but it felt so heavy again...

My voice was all garbled, like my mouth was filled with a blanket.

Wait...

She paused, turning to look back at me. "Sora, it probably doesn't make sense now, but it should in a moment. All you need to do is listen. Can't you hear them?"

Listen...? I opened my ears, hearing only the faint breeze and the rustling of the ferns. But something stood out from that, faintly, just a whisper behind it all.

"-ora!"

That was!

"Sora!"

I could hear them! Riku and Kairi! Calling my name! Before I could joyously let Ophelia know, she was reaching again for the mysterious door.

It opened, and the bright glow of the sun consumed everything.

* * *

My face felt kinda wet.

But I felt really warm, which was nice. I hadn't realized how cold I had been until I felt the warmth again.

"-eathing!"

Huh?

I tried opening my eyes, but everything still felt kinda heavy.

"Sora! Please come back!"

That was Kairi's voice. Right next to me. I had to open my eyes so I could check.

My eyes fluttered open, the shadows in front of them slowly lifted...and it was her.

Kairi. Kairi. Kairi.

My Kairi.

The sky was bright and clear behind her, meaning we were no longer surrounded by that horrible dark heaviness was plaguing me before evaporated under the brilliance of her smile. A smile so wonderful, even through the river of tears pouring down from her face onto mine. I smiled back. I couldn't even speak before she had my head wrapped up in her arms, clutched tight to her as she rocked back and forth.

Her voice was hoarse, ragged, and her arms were shaking. I could tell she was exhausted.

What had happened? Where was this? Back on the mountain? But how?

I felt something sturdy and warm wrap around both of us. I couldn't see anything, but somehow I knew it was Riku hugging me too.

"I heard you. Both of you." My voice finally came back to me, but it was muffled under the weight of the both of them.

I felt Riku pull back and jostle Kairi's shoulder. "Give him some air, he probably needs it."

I didn't care how stuffy the air was pressed up so close to her. It was still fantastic to be breathing again. She loosened just a little, her voice still stumbling over my name through her tears. I shifted my head to the side as much as I was able to, in order to finally see Riku's face. He wiped at his eyes quickly and I felt a pang of guilt.

I'd always teased Riku before about how he never cried. I could count on a hand the number of times I'm think he did, because he always hid it. I'm really sad I had to add another one to that count.

"Riku, I-"

"You idiot. Do you have any idea what you put us through!?"

I almost wish I did, I was so confused about this whole thing.

"How did I..."

Riku sighed heavily, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Your...heart was going to stop from the poison. Kairi used her magic to keep it beating and give time for Ophelia to give you the antidote."

This just left me with way more questions that I didn't have answers to.

"Kept my heart...Ophelia...the...but it broke, didn't it?"

"While you two were fighting Vanitas I was trying to talk some sense into her. She came around, but I was too late to stop you from getting poisoned. When she saw everything...happen, she told me she had the antidote, but wanted to be sure before she gave it to you. Refused to let me see it until I connected your hearts together so she could speak with you about something. I guess your heart convinced her to heal you."

I didn't really understand it, but it almost made sense. "Riku, how did you..."

He shrugged. "Hey, I know your heart inside and out. It wasn't too hard to make a temporary link, since she was trying pretty hard to reach out on her end. I was just the mediator."

I checked my hand, noticing that there was a mark from a thorn-like object that had been stabbed into it. I guess that really was the antidote. And that strange forest was some space between me and Ophelia. I wonder what that door was, though. And what would have happened if I had walked through it initially.

"Kairi, did you really keep my heart beating that whole time?"

"M-mm..." She bobbed her head, doing her best to staunch her tears.

I wanted to say thank you, but just the words themselves felt so hollow and not nearly good enough for someone like her. "Kairi, I...I'm so sorry I..."

She cuddled me closer, if that was even possible. "You told me 'always'. And it's the same for me, too! I will always keep you from leaving me behind."

I did my best to reach up around her back to give it a soft rub, but my arms were still a little heavy. I think it's gonna take me a while to recover fully from this thing.

"Where's Ophelia? And..." I hesitated, almost worried to ask about him.

"I'm here. I'm...a little tired, but I'm fine. He won't be using my negative emotions for any more as darkness, either." I heard Ophelia, but i couldn't see her. Maybe she was behind Kairi somewhere.

I did my best to try and sit up, Kairi regrettably having to let my head and upper body go in the process. But I needed to fix things, still. I heard Ophelia's voice again, and was finally able to locate her, leaning slumped against one of the old benches.

"Sora, about that guy...he's really confused inside, too. He told me about how jealous he was that other people could have such close friendships and love one another. He said he felt this weird leftover stuff from you and even though he knew it wasn't his feeling, he was desperate to at least experience what good things were like. I...told him I understood. That's why I let him..."

I raised my hand and she fell silent, staring down at her shoes.

"You don't have to apologize again."

But she confirmed everything that I had already suspected. Vanitas just needed a friend.

Riku pointed back across the courtyard where I finally saw him, sitting still on the ground, ripping chunks of grass out of the ground with his fist.

"I'm going to go help him."

I stood up, somewhat expecting Riku at least to protest me going over there alone, but he seemed to be perfectly okay with it. Kairi seemed unstable while she wasn't holding onto me, and I think she really tired herself out more than she wanted to admit. I gave Riku a short pleading glance and he nodded, shuffling over to help support her up.

I walked over towards my dark twin, staring angrily across the outlook.

"Hey..."

The cold pair of eyes turned to glare at me instead. He was absolutely seething in unchecked rage, but he had no powers now to do a thing about it.

"Why...you _always_ have to win, don't you?"

"It's not about winning-"

"Tch. It's about _helping_ people, right?" He sighed mockingly at me. "It's about bringing back people's _hearts_. Lot of good that did me! I bet you think that was some...favor!? What's the point of having my own heart if it doesn't help with all this sadness and disappointment!? It only makes the pain hurt worse!"

I dropped down to the dirt next to him and he recoiled, hiding his face.

"If you're worried about what happened before, I forgive you already."

He shivered. "Why!? Why would you so easily forgive someone who smashed your only life saving cure right in front of you? Are you stupid!? If it wasn't for absolute luck...you'd be..." He punched the ground and fell silent.

I _knew_ he regretted doing that.

"Yeah, maybe I am a little stupid. But I like to try and stay positive about most things. And I like letting people have more than a few chances to figure themselves out if I think they are willing to try."

Ophelia spoke up faintly from the bench. "He isn't telling you the truth, Sora."

Vanitas hissed and crossed his arms, looking away.

Ophelia continued, undaunted. "He never had an antidote to heal you in the first place. It was just colored water in a vial. A fake sugar placebo. He said he wanted to give it to you to snatch hope out of your hands and watch you suffer even more."

Kairi gasped. "But..."

I think I understood, now. He smashed it, not because he wanted to deny me a cure, but because he wanted to end the suffering. He didn't want to torture us any further.

And...that also confirms some part of him did really care about us, after all. It was buried pretty far down there, but it was a sign I was really happy to see.

"...do you know what mountain we are on right now, Vanitas?"

"Why the hell should I care!?"

I pointed over to one of the few remaining wooden information signs near the hiking trail. "It's called Konohana and it's pretty famous around here. It used to be a big volcano, apparently. But it doesn't erupt anymore. It used to be under the ocean, too. Then one day I guess it decided it was done being a lonely volcano and _boom_ , it made all the islands here."

I knew I didn't have it exactly right, but eh, I was close enough. Besides, the details didn't matter too much now anyway.

"...I wasn't there at the time but when a volcano erupts I'm sure it's pretty scary. I've heard really big ones can turn the whole sky black for days, and it covers everything with ash and other hot stuff. A lot of things...die. But, it doesn't end there. Once everything settles, there is a new island. A new home for lots more plants and animals and even people, too."

Vanitas just sat, silently, half watching me from the corner of his eye.

"So...the way I see it, life always has two parts to it. Two sides to everything. There's going to be darkness and anger and destruction. But there's also going to be life and light and happiness. And sometimes we can't always control which of those two things we see more often, but that's why when we do get a little piece of happiness, we should cherish it all that much more. And that's why good things are worth protecting."

He sighed and hurled the frayed grass clippings in his hand to the ground. "Well, isn't that just nice and dandy for you, then. Unfortunately my life isn't exactly filled with sunshine and rainbows, now, is it?"

I pointed down over to the edge of the town that was visible from where we were seated, half overshadowed by the mountain. "See that? Right now, everything to those townspeople down there is covered in darkness. But what do you think the other side of the mountain looks like? I bet it's bright and sunny and just waking up for the morning. But it's the same day. The same sun. The same mountain. The only thing that's changed is where you're standing on it. If where you are now is filled with darkness, then do what you can to seek out the light. Because if you look for it, it will be there. You can't just be happy living on one side."

He was trying to put on a nonchalant face, but I could almost feel the pain through his eyes as he turned to me, livid. "So you're blaming me for everything after all!? Saying I didn't do enough!?"

"Of course not! It's not your fault for not finding it. It's not your fault for being overwhelmed or discouraged and unable to see past all the shadows. That's why we need friends: to help find the light for us. But if you want things you change you have to be willing to try. I'm telling you all this because I want you to know that it's always possible to find happiness, no matter who you are."

He shivered and turned away. "And...if I can't do it alone...?"

"The darkness only takes control of you if you let it. If you call out to us for help, we'll answer. You just need to trust us." I laid a hand on his shoulder, and was glad to see that he didn't try to throw me off.

"I know you're scared because darkness is all you know, and you got jealous seeing us happy, but you can be happy too. A happiness that is your own."

I have no idea what emotions were coursing through him right now, but his voice, as quiet and hesitant as it was, rang out clear enough for me to hear.

"I...need help. I want happiness. I...want forgiveness. I want...a friend. "

"You already have at least three right here!" I gestured to myself, Riku and Kairi behind me. "Why do you think we came all the way up here?"

"...because I threatened her."

I shook my head. "Yeah, maybe so. But it's because we want you to get better."

Riku finally broke his silence. "Do you really think I would have held back at all if I wanted to get rid of you for good?"

Kairi shot Riku a frustrated look and sighed. "I'm not happy about everything either, but just like I said before, I want to help you through this, too."

Vanitas stared blankly at the grass in front of him for a moment before rising back up to his feet. "I'm surprised losers like you three can be so convincing. But you're all idiots."

I grinned brightly up at him and he hissed again.

"You'd better stop smiling at me like that."

Riku crossed his arms. "Does this mean you'll be more willing to listen to what Ven has to say and teach to you?"

Vanitas scowled but didn't refuse.

"And...maybe you'll try to reach out to us a little?" I pressed, jumping up to my feet.

"I...suppose."

Aw, that totally meant yes! I think he could tell I was still smiling and he gripped the fence in front of him, rattling it a little bit under his shaking hands.

"D-don't get so excited! I'll only use that knowledge to upgrade to better friends, later!"

I shrugged and threw my hands behind my head with a laugh, glad to feel the movement coming back to them, finally. "That's fine. Just as long as you get some good memories along the way."

He growled again. "You're a stupid sappy weirdo."

I felt Riku throw his arm over my shoulder. "Yep. But he's _our_ stupid sap. Better to get used to it than fight it."

I glanced back to check on Kairi, and saw that she seemed a lot better. She was helping Ophelia to her feet. Vanitas took a few steps towards them, but kept his distance.

"...I'll earn my forgiveness from you, later. You'd better not just give it to me out of pity. And...I'll apologize when I feel I can mean it properly."

Kairi, even through her exhaustion, gave him a weak smile. "I'll be waiting."

He looked like he wanted to say something else before simply giving up altogether, and he started walking back towards the small house where I assume Ven was still waiting for us.

She called out to him quickly. "Are you...going to be alright?"

He stood there quietly for a moment, considering her question. "I want to find my own feelings. Not cling to the residue of emotions that aren't mine. You won't have any more trouble from me."

"That's not what I was..." She trailed off and shook her head. "Just do your best, okay?"

Before Riku could help me make it far down the mountain path, I gave him a little bump with my elbow and lowered my voice. "Hey, uh...about what happened..."

Riku paused to listen intently and I sighed.

"When I was...well, I don't really know where I was, but after I thought I..." I shook my head. I was getting distracted here. "I was able to think about a few things. First, I just wanted to make sure you knew how much I-"

"I know all that already."

"Ah...yeah...I figured you'd say something like that..."

I saw the two girls heading down towards the hut, Ven, and all of our other friends already dashing up towards them to offer help. They must have been pretty worried this whole time. Kairi was doing her best to quickly explain everything. I was a bit glad I didn't have to do that, I barely understood what happened myself. I paused, knowing there was still something I needed to tell him. He noticed my hesitation.

"Sora...?"

I cleared my throat. "...the other thing I realized was about Kairi."

"Hmm?"

"I really think I love her."

Riku bonked my head, softer than usual. I guess considering all that happened today. "Of course you do. Sounds about right to me. You're going to tell her, then?"

I waved him off. "W-when I get a chance..."

"Pft. That means never."

Well, I'm glad he's in a good mood already, geez...

But I noticed I couldn't stop smiling, myself.

* * *

Xion narrowed her eyes and stared at Vanitas suspiciously. "Hmm...well, at least it will be a lot easier telling these two apart than with Roxas and Ven."

"Get out of my face." He snapped and shoved her back.

"Much easier." Lea scoffed, knocking the back of my head a bit. "Unless Sora decides to change things up a bit."

"If he hasn't changed in sixteen years I doubt he's going to start now." Riku sighed.

Aqua smiled teasingly. "Oh, I don't know about that...he's certainly at the age when things are still changing quite a bit. At least until...about 18 or so, I believe."

I frowned. "What's that mean?"

Riku just rolled his eyes. "Who knows? Maybe you might get taller."

"Wha—really!" Yes! I hate that Riku is still taller than me. Sure, I've caught up a little but it seems like every time I gain a little ground he does too.

Vanitas was looking pretty dour in the corner like he had a storm cloud brewing over his head. I saw Namine sort of shuffle over to him, clutching her notebook.

"Um...Vanitas?"

His eyes slowly traced over to her, still looking as grumpy as ever. "...what?"

"I...drew a picture of you a while ago, when I saw you once in Twilight Town."

"You...what?" His face looked like a mixture of shocked and slightly enraged.

She took a step back. "I'm sorry, I just like sitting around the plaza and sketching what I see..." She handed a paper over to him and he snatched it away from her, glaring at it.

I hoped he wasn't going to do something mean like rip it up, but instead his eyes softened and he _actually_ smiled a little.

"You...drew this? Of...me? But...why?" It was strange seeing him so taken aback by something.

Namine smiled a little, but lowered her head a little, embarrassed. "I-I'm not sure, it was just that you looked so calm and happy being by that cat, so..."

"Wait, cat? What cat?" Roxas knocked his head to the side and tried to glance at the picture, but Vanitas quickly moved it out of the way.

Xion got a strange look on her face, like she realized something. "It _was_ you!" She pointed right at Vanitas, laughing. "You're the one who was taking care of that stray that lives in the alley!"

He definitely didn't deny it, only looked a bit uncomfortably to the side. Somehow looking after a stray cat kind of seemed like something he would do, actually.

Ven nodded a bit in understanding. "Right...I guess that explains why I caught him that one time with a bag of food tucked under his bed."

Aqua smiled. "You know, you can always adopt him and bring him to the castle. We don't have a rule against pets."

I could tell Vanitas was still embarrassed by it, but he shook his head quite firmly. "Shadow isn't _mine_. He deserves his own freedom. I just...visit him every now and again, that's all."

Xion cooed. "Aww, his name is S _hadow_?"

"Tch. Shut up."

I gave him a small smile, making sure not to overdo it again. "You know, we have a club house in Twilight Town. There would be plenty of space if shadow wanted to come live there."

He hesitated, clearly considering it.

Kairi smiled at him too. "I'm sure I can set up a nice place in the garden for him and any of his other friends."

I could see Xion starting to get pretty excited. "Oh! That'll be so much fun! A miniature cat sanctuary!"

"...if that's what he wants..." Vanitas mumbled slowly.

"And...there should be room for you too, if you want to come." I offered slowly.

Vanitas glanced around at everyone, almost as if he was searching for someone to argue against it, but everyone was nothing but supportive.

Lea clapped him on the back and he jumped a little in surprise. "Don't worry about it. We're all weird little misfits, in a way."

Roxas groaned. "Who are you calling weird, exactly?"

Ven nudged Roxas a bit with his elbow. "I dunno, I think he has a point."

"Yeah, you're all pretty weird." Riku hummed a bit and Xion gave him a glance.

"He was talking about you too, you know."

Lea groaned and itched his head a bit. "Man, why is it every time I try to comfort someone it comes out so bad?"

"Just stick with giving out ice cream. That always works out pretty well." Xion giggled, teasing him again.

"...ice cream…?" Vanitas frowned. "What good is ice cream?"

Uh...has he seriously never had ice cream before? Judging by my friend's stunned faces I could tell everyone was just as surprised. We all glanced among ourselves and smiled. He was definitely going to get some today, that was for sure.

Kairi giggled. "Well, then...I wonder what sort of flavor he's going to like the most…?"

Ven tilted his head back and forth. "Yeah, good question. He's never really said one way or another if he likes something or not. What do you guys think we should recommend?"

"Citrus, I'd imagine." Aqua pondered. "Something like yuzu. He's always taking fruit off of the lemon tree out in the back garden."

Roxas cringed. "Wait...Vanitas, you just _eat_ lemons?"

Vanitas narrowed his eyes threateningly. "Something wrong with that?"

"N-no...just...uh..."

Namine hummed. "We could always give him vanilla to try first?"

Ven grinned over to me and Riku. "There's a good ice cream shop around here, right? What do you guys say, ice cream for lunch?"

Riku just laughed. "Sure, whatever. I've had unhealthier things. I know just the place, too." He then gestured for everyone to follow, and we made our way down the hill towards town.

It might take some time for Vanitas to get more used to hanging around, but I have a feeling he is going to settle in okay. More importantly, I hope he can finally find a place where he feels like he belongs. Lea was right, in a way. Our group certainly isn't the most normal one out there. And we've certainly had our share of problems. But our troubled history is one that binds us together even stronger and helps us look forward to the future. There isn't any future that I want more than one that involves each and every one of them.

I saw Kairi falling back a bit behind everyone, so I waited until I could fall in line next to her. She gave me a smile, but I could tell she was probably still worried about something.

"...If you're still worried about Ophelia, I'm sure she's going to be okay. She just needed some time."

Kairi reached out and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "I know. She seemed much better when we dropped her off at home."

"So...what's on your mind?"

She hummed and smiled. "Just thinking about what she told me."

"Huh? What was that?"

"She said...congratulations on your bright future. It's a bit of an odd thing to say at a time like that, isn't it?"

I could tell with the look she was giving me she was trying to pry a bit out of me about the conversation the three of us had together in her heart. As much as I wanted to confess it all to her, maybe now wasn't exactly the best time.

"I think she's right though, isn't she? I mean...the world has changed so much, and it probably still will. Every day new and crazy things happen. But I know we'll all be there to help each other see it through."

She giggled into her hand. "Well not _every_ day. But I get what you're trying to say." We walked a few steps before she spoke up again. "Sora...do you have anything you want to happen in the future?"

"Like...my dreams? I dunno...I guess I'm happy with anything as long as I can be with my friends, and with you."

She smiled softly. "I had a feeling you'd say something like that."

"Is that...a bad answer? Did you want something different?"

"Not at all. I just hope I can always do my best to keep everyone as full of light and hope as possible. Whatever that takes, I suppose. That's my dream."

I laughed. "That sounds like you, too."

She squeezed my hand again, leaning into my arm as she walked. It was such a nice feeling, having her by my side.

"Oh! Speaking of new and crazy things: before I forget to let you know...I guess Selphie and Irvine _are_ dating now."

I burst out laughing again, just imagining it. "I guess you did do him a favor sending him off to her for the festival planning."

"Yeah, who knew they would click that well together!"

I glanced over at Riku and sighed. "If only Riku would actually let me know who he keeps sneaking off to see. He hasn't said anything to you, has he?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Always the first to butt into everyone's business but locks everything about himself up tight. Don't worry though, we're going to utilize the full team effort to crack the mystery. We'll get to the bottom of it—there's no way he can hide from all of us!"

"Not for long, anyway."

I noticed that her pace was slowing down a little, causing us to fall behind the group even further before she finally stopped and yanked on my arm to halt with her. Roxas noticed and turned his head a bit to glance back at us.

"You two doing okay?"

Kairi gave him a gesture indicating for him to move along. "Don't worry I just want to borrow him for a minute."

Roxas shrugged and spun back around to follow the group.

"What is it?" I checked her face to see if she was giving any tell about how she was feeling. All I could see was her smiling at me, looking remarkably happy considering how crazy today has been already. And it's not even two o'clock!

She put her hand gently on my cheek and held it there, just looking at me. "I'm just...so grateful I have you here. You always try to reach out and forgive people, no matter what they've done."

"It's really not that, I mean...it's just how I feel so I'm not really sure I deserve any special praise for it or anything."

She jumped into my arms again, clinging tightly. "I never want to lose you like that again. It was too horrible."

"Sorry..."

Kairi lifted her face out of my chest, smiling, her eyes never leaving mine. "But it's just how you are, right? You put your entire heart and soul into everything you do. And that's exactly why...why I always treasure every single moment we can have together, why I'm not scared of anything in the future when you're with me, why I'll never regret choosing you to be the one I want to spend that time with..."

I was a little stunned and could only smile back at her with everything I had. I was going to wait for a different time to say this, maybe sometime when we weren't exhausted and slightly battle bruised, but just seeing her face as it was now, full of light and happiness—there wasn't anything I wanted to say more.

"Kairi...this time I think I want to tell you something first..."


	20. Kairi: Epilogue

He always looked so peaceful when he was napping. I reached over to brush some of his hair away from his face and he murmured something and smiled, still deep in sleep. I did my best to wiggle out of his grip without waking him and checked out the window.

The cloudburst from before had passed, most of the rain already dried up off the ground, leaving the sea looking remarkably calm out over the horizon. Spring rain was always so nice for the flowers, not always so nice when it catches you by surprise, though. But at least it gave us a fun little excuse to come snuggle in here for a while until we dried off.

I searched the sky, hoping to see any signs of a rainbow. I'm glad my parents finally came around to accepting our new reality. Despite my dad having very clear...preferences, I think even he's slowly started to realize that my little goofball might actually be much more special than he lets on most of the time.

I suppose we should get going though, it's getting a bit late and I did promise to meet up with Namine and Riku soon to get all the new pictures hung up in the clubhouse. I'm still shocked that we actually got a picture of Vanitas laughing. But his mood has improved since we were able to set up that nice cat sanctuary in the back garden.

Ah! There it is! A rainbow! I smiled up at it, hoping that the others could see it wherever they were now. Even as the rain comes down, there will always be that bright splash of color to follow. You just have to look a bit harder to spot it sometimes, right Sora?

I glanced at his sleeping form as he snoozed lightly through the afternoon and I sighed happily. So much has changed, but yet so little is different. The best part about rainbows is they also never seem to have a clear end or beginning; they just are. Because while there are many things that must end, not everything always meets that fate. I saw the twists of color stretching out far beyond the sea and once more felt so drawn into that indistinguishable distance of the horizon. But it really wasn't that far away at all, was it? That horizon, that connecting space to bring together both the ocean and the sky…I smiled to myself and leaned over to gently give Sora a kiss awake.

The comforting thing about that horizon, I suppose...is that it will always be there. Connected, forever.

* * *

 **A/N: While this concludes the narration, it isn't really an "end"...right? After all, life goes on. I hope all of you are always able to find a little piece of light to carry you through your troubled times.  
**

 **While I know there is a lot I have yet to improve on, I enjoyed writing this journey a lot. I hope to see you again in the future.**

 **Take care!**

 **-A. Moth**


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